Warsaw
29 June 2009
The top American military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, has taken a particularly active role in changing the U.S. approach to Afghanistan, contributing to the new strategy, choosing the new commander for U.S. and NATO forces, and deciding to replace the previous one a year ahead of schedule.
During a trip with the admiral to Europe, VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin spoke to him about the new strategy and why he has taken such an active role.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l) and Joint Chief's of Staff Chairman, Admiral Michael Mullen at the Pentagon, 18 Jun 2009 |
"I've got to do what I think is right," he said. "What motivates me more than anything else is I've got young people out there who are sacrificing their lives, sacrificing like I've never seen, certainly, in my time. And, I'm anxious to do as much as I possibly can to try to get it right for them."
The 62-year-old admiral's focus has been the allied effort in Afghanistan and related security issues in neighboring Pakistan.
"I have a sense of urgency about Afghanistan that, if we don't get it right within the next 12-to-18 months, we may not ever get it right," he said. "And, at the same time, I really think we can get it right. I can see the way it needs to be done. I think we've learned a lot of lessons in Iraq, from a counterinsurgency standpoint, so that we can meet the sense of urgency that's there to move rapidly."
Lessons learned
Afghan man shows shoe he found near debris of house destroyed in coalition airstrike in Bala Baluk district of Farah province, 08 May 2009 |
"In the end, we can't win it if we don't get this right," said Admiral Mullen. "We can't keep killing Afghan civilians and hope to win. It's just not going to work.
But recent incidents in which U.S. air strikes have caused large numbers of civilian casualties have worked against that strategy. That is why the admiral's hand-picked new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, will soon issue new orders to his forces on the use of air power.
The worst incident was in early May in Farah Province.
An official U.S. investigation says 26 people were confirmed killed when an American air crew violated procedures and bombed a building where Taliban fighters had taken refuge, without knowing whether civilians were inside. The American military acknowledges the civilian death toll may be higher, but says it is not as high as the 140 dead some Afghan officials have claimed.
Admiral Mullen says General McChrystal will use the Farah incident to push for a fundamental shift in how the troops on the ground think, how they plan and when they call in air strikes.
Civilian casualties
He says even junior officers and enlisted troops must understand the strategic need to gain the support of the Afghan people, even as they face deadly threats in the heat of battle.
"You can have a tactical victory and a strategic defeat," he said. "We can't keep generating tactical victories which give us strategic defeats."
Admiral Mike Mullen, left, Rear Admiral Scott Van Buskirk talk with Pakistani Army General Ashfaq Kayani and Pakistani Army Lt. General Ahmad Shuja Pasha (US Navy Photo) |
But Admiral Mullen says the troops will still be free to protect themselves. And, he acknowledges there will still, inevitably, be some civilian casualties.
He also acknowledges that sometimes the new approach may mean more danger for U.S. and allied troops. But he says, in the long term, more support from the Afghan people will reduce the danger, overall.
"If you reduce strategically, you reduce risk to the force."
Admiral Mullen is reluctant to discuss his own activist role, compared to his two predecessors who commentators have criticized for not doing enough to ensure victories in Iraq and Afghanistan, years ago. But with the new strategy and the new commander in Afghanistan, who he calls "the best we have," Admiral Mullen is clearly embarking on his second two-year term as a man on a mission.
"At a time when I'm losing members of our military, when they're paying the ultimate sacrifice, I think I owe them the best military leader I have and the best I can do to support him," he said.
Admiral Mullen calls the new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan "a strategy of new leadership," and leadership, he says, is what solves the toughest problems.