As the fierce debate over American strategy and troop levels intensifies, one of the key advisers behind the U.S. "surge" strategy in Iraq and the principal author of the United States Government's 2009 Counterinsurgency Handbook joined Christiane for a provocative discussion. David Kilcullen is a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism consultant to U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, as well as to the UK, Australia and NATO . He's also an adviser to Gen. McChrystal – the U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
An influential adviser to the U.S. commander in Afghanistan today declared that anything less than 25,000 extra international troops in the country will not be enough to win. David Kilcullen, who also advised U.S. commanders in Iraq, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour the window of opportunity to turn around the war is closing.
Kilcullen's comments came on the same day that President Obama, only hours after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, again met with his top advisers to discuss strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan. The U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is reportedly asking for up to 40,000 extra troops. Some reports say there is an option on the table to send 60,000 additional troops, almost doubling the U.S. force already in the country.
Speaking on AMANPOUR., Kilcullen – who's just come back from Afghanistan – said the war is not as bad as some say. "But it's worse than any other time in the past", he said. Kilcullen identified three critical problems in Afghanistan: the lack of legitimacy for the government, safe havens for terrorists across the border in Pakistan, and a lack of military resources.
He said it will not be possible to protect the Afghan population – the key to any counterinsurgency strategy – without a substantial input of additional resources. Kilcullen told Christiane Amanpour that the U.S. needs to get through its stategy review as soon as possible and make a decision before the window of opportunity closed, saying it's vital to provide security in major population centers in Afghanistan.
Kilcullen said perceptions of the Afghan people are critical to turning around this war. "People are angry at the coalition sometimes, not because we are there, but because we are not providing security". He said nothing else matters if the counterinsurgent forces do not control the environment.
Kilcullen told Christiane Amanpour it's critical to end the corruption that feeds the violence. He said corruption creates anger and bad government, which creates space for the Taliban, which in turn leads to poppy cultivation across the country. That floods the country with money which creates even more corruption.
But Kilcullen spoke positively about some aspects of the efforts to defeat the insurgency. He said he has never seen a better leadership team in ISAF, the U.S. military, and the American embassy. He said the Afghan military has improved but there are still problems with the Afghan police. In Kilcullen's view, the biggest problem is with the civilian leadership in Afghanistan.
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