AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
According to the BBC, U.S. President Barack Obama will annouce a 30,000-man commitment to Afghanistan today during a televised address. Yesterday, Obama conferred with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Advisor James Jones and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry (via videoconference). He also discussed his plans with Russian, French, and British officials.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to commit 500 additional British troops, while Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Monday that his country will provide 3,200 men of its own. Frattini called the Afghan conflict a "test of NATO's 'credibility.'"
The 33,700 'surge' troops will join the 100,000+ U.S. and NATO soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan.
While an increased military presence will undoubtedly help combat violence, the U.S., NATO, and Afghan governments must still work to combat rampant corruption, drug trafficking, and extreme poverty. Obviously, security needs to be the first priority - U.S. and NATO troops need to secure the Pakistani border and eliminate Taliban strongholds before civilian contractors and aid workers can safely work with the Afghan population. But while successful military operations remain a critical component of the Afghan nation-building venture, only credible government administration and a stable economy will ultimately create conditions conducive to a healthy Afghan democracy.
Killing militants may decrease violence, but it will not correct the second-highest child mortality rate in the world (according to UNICEF), nor will it improve an economy with a $426 per capita GDP. Poverty and disease will remain dangerous foes in Afghanistan long after the U.S. and NATO face down the Taliban.
Without some semblance of social and economic security, Afghanistan will remain fertile soil for the cultivation of violent extremism.
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