WASHINGTON – The July 2011 deadline for beginning US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan “is the beginning of a process, not the date when the US heads for the exits,” Gen David Petraeus told Senators on Tuesday.
But while Petraeus – who is being questioned during his Senate Armed Service Committee confirmation hearings to be appointed new commander of US forces in Afghanistan – emphasised his support for the deadline set by President Barack Obama, he also said that the pace of any US withdrawals next year should be “responsible” and determined by conditions on the ground at the time.
His careful explanation reflects the ongoing tension between the military, which wants to stay longer in Afghanistan, and some within the Obama administration, who favour a rapid drawdown and a shift to a smaller military footprint.
Petraeus was chosen last week by Obama to take command in Afghanistan after the previous commander, Gen Stanley A McChrystal, was fired over comments he and his several aides made in a Rolling Stone article.
Petraeus is expected to be easily confirmed, perhaps later this week.
The General assured Afghanistan and Pakistan of enduring American commitment to the region as he also underlined PakistanÂ’s role in the Afghan reconciliation process, saying that US relationship with Pakistan was vitally important.
“That relationship (with Pakistan) is crucially important. And we have worked very very hard (at it) as did Admiral Mullen (chairman Joint Chiefs) and as did by the way General McChrystal,” he said referring to the American commanders’ visits to Islamabad for meetings with Pakistani leaders and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
“It is going to be a number of years before Afghan forces can truly handle the security tasks in Afghanistan on their own. The commitment to Afghanistan is necessarily, therefore, an enduring one and neither the Taliban nor our Afghan and Pakistani partners should doubt that,” he stated.
On the possibility of an agreement between the Afghan government and militants, who wish to join reconciliation process, Petraeus explained, “It will depend on a number of factors this summer.”
Petraeus, who Tuesday morning had a conversation with President Hamid Karzai on his way to the hearing, also said the Afghan leader “assured me that he has not met a Haqqani network group leader in recent days or I think at any time.”
“With respect to Pakistani involvement in some form of reconciliation agreement, I think, that is essential,” Petraeus, who heads the US central command, said.
He was responding to a question by Chairman of the Committee Senator Carl Levin on PakistanÂ’s potential to broker a reconciliation deal between the Taliban leadership and Afghan government at this time.
Petraeus said the relationship between the Afghan and Pakistani governments and their militaries is critical. “They are always going to be neighbours. They have had at various times differing objectives and what we need to do is to help them realise that there are mutual objectives that could help each country more if they seek them, rather than by seeking objectives that are in conflict.”
Asked by a lawmaker how the US “will work with the Afghan government to manage Pakistan’s strategic interests” in Afghanistan, Petraeus replied, “We can facilitate the dialogue, participate in the dialogue, be an honest
broker, we are friends to both. We are enormously enabling both. Pakistan is in a tough fight. One of its fights, by the way, is to keep our lines of communication open.”
For its part, he said, the United States provide substantial coalition support funding, foreign military financing and economic aid as under the Kerry-Lugar Act, passed last year.
Over the weekend, President Obama characterised the increasing contacts between Pakistan and Afghanistan as “useful” but suggested caution at the early stage of the negotiations process.
Petraeus offered a mixed assessment of the progress of the war, predicting that violence would get worse in coming months but asserting that the US and its allies have made progress in Helmand province and other areas.
“My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months,” Petraeus said. “As we take away the enemy’s safe havens and reduce the enemy’s freedom of action, the insurgents will fight back.”
Petraeus, who was directly involved in formulating the current strategy as head of US Central Command, did not signal any immediate change of direction in his statement. But he noted that some US soldiers have complained about rules of engagement and tactical rules set by McChrystal aimed at preventing civilian casualties.
“Those on the ground must have all the support they need when they are in a tough situation,” Petraeus said, noting that since he was nominated for the command position he has spoken about the issues with President Karzai and other Afghan officials, who long have complained about civilian casualties.
“I am keenly aware of concerns by some of our troopers on the ground about the application of our rules of engagement and the tactical directive. They should know that I will look very hard at this issue,” Petraeus said.
He added, however, that he would continue McChrystalÂ’s emphasis on reducing civilian casualties.
In an opening statement, Senator Levin, the chairman, strongly supported the July 2011 date for the beginning of withdrawals of United States troops from Afghanistan but also said that progress there was “spotty” and that he remained “deeply concerned” by reports that relatively few Afghan Army troops were in the lead in operations in the south.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, declared in his opening statement that Afghanistan was “not a lost cause,” and that “the Afghans do not want the Taliban back.”
The hearing comes at a time of rising violence in Afghanistan, as an expanded troop contingent wages a wider, more aggressive fight. It also comes at a time of growing doubts – in Congress, among ordinary Americans and even among some in the military – that the war can be won.