Courtesy: "New York Times", 29 April 2011
To Lead Afghan War, Obama Chooses Marine Known for Swaying Sunnis in Iraq
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. John R. Allen was called to the White House on Thursday for the formal announcement that he would take custody of the war in Afghanistan, now the focus of attention as the Obama administration moves toward withdrawing troops and handing over responsibility to the government in Kabul.
General Allen is not well known beyond the Marine Corps and national security circles. But he was President Obama’s first choice to succeed Gen. David H. Petraeus, easily the most recognizable officer in the American military, in no small part for his work enticing Sunni tribal elders in the restive Anbar Province of Iraq to turn their backs on the insurgency and foreign fighters and to join the American cause during 2007 and 2008.
Mr. Obama described General Allen as “the right commander for this vital mission” in Afghanistan. “As a battle-tested combat leader, in Iraq he helped turn the tide in Anbar Province,” the president added.
To be sure, Afghanistan is not Iraq. The regimented tribal structure that allowed the United States to build an indigenous counterinsurgency force by winning over the sheiks in western Iraq cannot be perfectly replicated in Afghanistan, a society whose social structures have been destroyed by decades of war. And the enemy in Afghanistan is far more entrenched and experienced.
But military officers who work with General Allen, 57, say he understands the complex challenges presented by commanding a campaign in Afghanistan that is as much diplomatic and economic as military in a nation with a historic, and understandable, distrust of foreigners.
He told Mr. Obama as much himself on Thursday, turning from the lectern to look straight in the president’s face and say, “I understand well the demands of this mission.”
General Allen has a reputation as a strategic thinker, and he holds advanced degrees from Georgetown University and the National War College. He was the first Marine officer inducted as a term member into the Council on Foreign Relations, and he served as a Marine Corps fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He also will be the first Marine to be the top commander in either Afghanistan or Iraq.
Marine Corps colleagues cite his abilities to understand the consequences of military and political actions on all parties in a conflict — enemies, allies and civilians. They say those insights played a significant role in the successes of the Anbar Awakening, as the Sunni counterinsurgency in Iraq was known.
During his deployment as the second in command in Anbar Province, General Allen spoke of how the Marines operated as a “shock absorber” between the local officials and the central government in Baghdad.
Their role was especially relevant because Sunni tribal elders deeply distrusted the Shiite-dominated national government, even as they were turning away from supporting an insurgency that was seeking to bring down that government and throw out its American backers.
“The challenge for us is to connect the province to the central government,” General Allen said at the time, in words that apply just as well across Afghanistan today.
He spoke of the dynamic tensions between military force and economic development that prompted Anbar sheiks to turn on the insurgents and foreign terrorists. “Out here it’s been ‘Who can defend his people?’ ” General Allen said in describing a typical conversation with a Sunni tribal elder. “After the war it’s ‘Who was able to reconstruct?’ ”
If the Senate confirms him as commander of the International Security Assistance Force, the allied coalition in Afghanistan, General Allen will move to Kabul in September. In the interim, he will be assigned as a special assistant to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to prepare for command.
He has served in the Pentagon as a senior officer developing policy for Asia and the Pacific region. From his current post as the No. 2 officer at the Central Command, overseeing American military operations across the Middle East and Central Asia, he has been involved in planning for the Afghanistan mission.
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Note: The viewpoint expressed in this article is solely that of the writer / news outlet. "FATA Awareness Initiative" Team may not agree with the opinion presented.
....................
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"FATA Awareness Initiative" Team.
To Lead Afghan War, Obama Chooses Marine Known for Swaying Sunnis in Iraq
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. John R. Allen was called to the White House on Thursday for the formal announcement that he would take custody of the war in Afghanistan, now the focus of attention as the Obama administration moves toward withdrawing troops and handing over responsibility to the government in Kabul.
General Allen is not well known beyond the Marine Corps and national security circles. But he was President Obama’s first choice to succeed Gen. David H. Petraeus, easily the most recognizable officer in the American military, in no small part for his work enticing Sunni tribal elders in the restive Anbar Province of Iraq to turn their backs on the insurgency and foreign fighters and to join the American cause during 2007 and 2008.
Mr. Obama described General Allen as “the right commander for this vital mission” in Afghanistan. “As a battle-tested combat leader, in Iraq he helped turn the tide in Anbar Province,” the president added.
To be sure, Afghanistan is not Iraq. The regimented tribal structure that allowed the United States to build an indigenous counterinsurgency force by winning over the sheiks in western Iraq cannot be perfectly replicated in Afghanistan, a society whose social structures have been destroyed by decades of war. And the enemy in Afghanistan is far more entrenched and experienced.
But military officers who work with General Allen, 57, say he understands the complex challenges presented by commanding a campaign in Afghanistan that is as much diplomatic and economic as military in a nation with a historic, and understandable, distrust of foreigners.
He told Mr. Obama as much himself on Thursday, turning from the lectern to look straight in the president’s face and say, “I understand well the demands of this mission.”
General Allen has a reputation as a strategic thinker, and he holds advanced degrees from Georgetown University and the National War College. He was the first Marine officer inducted as a term member into the Council on Foreign Relations, and he served as a Marine Corps fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He also will be the first Marine to be the top commander in either Afghanistan or Iraq.
Marine Corps colleagues cite his abilities to understand the consequences of military and political actions on all parties in a conflict — enemies, allies and civilians. They say those insights played a significant role in the successes of the Anbar Awakening, as the Sunni counterinsurgency in Iraq was known.
During his deployment as the second in command in Anbar Province, General Allen spoke of how the Marines operated as a “shock absorber” between the local officials and the central government in Baghdad.
Their role was especially relevant because Sunni tribal elders deeply distrusted the Shiite-dominated national government, even as they were turning away from supporting an insurgency that was seeking to bring down that government and throw out its American backers.
“The challenge for us is to connect the province to the central government,” General Allen said at the time, in words that apply just as well across Afghanistan today.
He spoke of the dynamic tensions between military force and economic development that prompted Anbar sheiks to turn on the insurgents and foreign terrorists. “Out here it’s been ‘Who can defend his people?’ ” General Allen said in describing a typical conversation with a Sunni tribal elder. “After the war it’s ‘Who was able to reconstruct?’ ”
If the Senate confirms him as commander of the International Security Assistance Force, the allied coalition in Afghanistan, General Allen will move to Kabul in September. In the interim, he will be assigned as a special assistant to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to prepare for command.
He has served in the Pentagon as a senior officer developing policy for Asia and the Pacific region. From his current post as the No. 2 officer at the Central Command, overseeing American military operations across the Middle East and Central Asia, he has been involved in planning for the Afghanistan mission.
....................
Note: The viewpoint expressed in this article is solely that of the writer / news outlet. "FATA Awareness Initiative" Team may not agree with the opinion presented.
....................
We Hope You find the info useful. Keep visiting this blog and remember to leave your feedback / comments / suggestions / requests / corrections.
With Regards,
"FATA Awareness Initiative" Team.
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