Obama Team Begins to Formulate Renewed Strategy in Afghanistan

A report in the Washington Post today highlights sharp contrasts in President-elect Barack Obama's overall strategy for the wars in Afghanistan and Iran from the current administration's, both militarily and diplomatically. A major difference is the Obama team's clear priority of shifting focus by deploying more troops to the war in Afghanistan, which has recently seen the most U.S. casualties since the conflict began. While President Bush has approved additional deployments of troops to the region, the timing would be contingent upon the U.S. presence in Iraq. Obama's advisers have also spoken about supporting talks between the Afghan government and some so-called "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, a number of soldiers who, according to senior officers at the Pentagon, are "more opportunistic than ideologically committed."

National security advisers in the Obama camp have also spoken plainly about renewing efforts to capture Osama bin Laden and intensifying the fight against al-Qaeda, though any concrete military strategy has remained vague. But President-elect Obama was clear throughout his campaign about his intention to use diplomatic tactics and to engage with countries like Iran and Syria in order to bolster the overall counterterrorism effort.

Polling numbers on the U.S. effort in Aghanistan have shown increasingly negative attitudes in nearly every category. Our last edition of the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index indicated a significant lack of public confidence in U.S. effort in Afghanistan. Just 15 percent said the United States can do "a lot" about creating a stable Afghanistan, while just 28 percent gave the U.S. "A" and "B" grades for "succeeding in meeting our objectives in Afghanistan," a 12-point drop since we first asked the question in 2005.

On efforts to fight terrorism, the Foreign Policy Index has indicated clear movement in public attitudes towards a more diplomatic approach. Seven in 10 (69 percent) say the government should "put more emphasis on diplomatic and economic methods", over military efforts (23 percent). Six in 10 (59 percent) believe that "improved communication and dialogue with the Muslim world will reduce hatred of the U.S." And eight in 10 worry that the war in Iraq is "requiring so much money and attention that it may be distracting the U.S. from other threats in the world," with 47 percent saying they worry about this "a lot."

The Iraq and Beyond guide in our Citizen's Survival Kit delves into these issues in further detail, with relevant statistics, charts, and succinct analysis of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and the issues that surround our national security. Also be sure to check out the accompanying discussion guide, which lays out three approaches to foreign policy, with detailed pros, cons and specific strategies for each.