Zarvan
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June 25th, 2014
03:32 PM ET
By Claire Calzonetti, CNN
Could Afghanistan be the next Iraq?
“If you think about what the lessons of Iraq are, I hope that every Afghan is sitting in the evening thinking clearly about the lessons of Iraq,” Marc Grossman – the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan – told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
The violence rocking Kabul and other parts of the country – with another four killed today, and 27 dead since summer offensive began – raises the harsh specter of an Iraq-like disaster once U.S. and NATO forces pull out at the end of the year.
No one knows the pitfalls and the possibilities better than former ambassador Marc Grossman, who was the Obama Administration's point man in some of the toughest yet vital peace negotiations
The Administration's confident claim that Iraqi security forces were ready to take over in December 2011 was thrown into doubt when they fled the ISIS onslaught two weeks ago.
Should Afghanistan have any more faith in their U.S. trained forces being strong enough to stand up alone?
Of course, Iraq’s problem was compounded by its hopelessly sectarian political leadership. In Afghanistan, the hope for a successful transition rests largely on a successful election, but even that's not going according to plan.
After a successful first round, in which he got most votes, presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the race in protest, accusing opponent Ashraf Ghani's camp and the electoral commission of fraud in the second round.
One commission member has resigned, and Abdullah is considering jumping back in.
But the stakes could not be higher, as an emboldened Taliban steps up attacks ahead of international forces pulling out.
Click above to watch Amanpour’s full interview with Grossman.
Could Afghanistan be the next Iraq? – Amanpour - CNN.com Blogs
03:32 PM ET
By Claire Calzonetti, CNN
Could Afghanistan be the next Iraq?
“If you think about what the lessons of Iraq are, I hope that every Afghan is sitting in the evening thinking clearly about the lessons of Iraq,” Marc Grossman – the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan – told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
The violence rocking Kabul and other parts of the country – with another four killed today, and 27 dead since summer offensive began – raises the harsh specter of an Iraq-like disaster once U.S. and NATO forces pull out at the end of the year.
No one knows the pitfalls and the possibilities better than former ambassador Marc Grossman, who was the Obama Administration's point man in some of the toughest yet vital peace negotiations
The Administration's confident claim that Iraqi security forces were ready to take over in December 2011 was thrown into doubt when they fled the ISIS onslaught two weeks ago.
Should Afghanistan have any more faith in their U.S. trained forces being strong enough to stand up alone?
Of course, Iraq’s problem was compounded by its hopelessly sectarian political leadership. In Afghanistan, the hope for a successful transition rests largely on a successful election, but even that's not going according to plan.
After a successful first round, in which he got most votes, presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the race in protest, accusing opponent Ashraf Ghani's camp and the electoral commission of fraud in the second round.
One commission member has resigned, and Abdullah is considering jumping back in.
But the stakes could not be higher, as an emboldened Taliban steps up attacks ahead of international forces pulling out.
Click above to watch Amanpour’s full interview with Grossman.
Could Afghanistan be the next Iraq? – Amanpour - CNN.com Blogs
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