A Nebraskan's View by Senator Ben Nelson

Monday, September 21, 2009 A WAY FORWARD FOR AFGHANISTAN America is at a tipping point in Afghanistan. It hinges on a functioning government that is able to provide protection for its citizens and can provide the most basic services to its people.

As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel I am watching developments and the troop buildup in Afghanistan closely. My concern is about the U.S. strategy and how it will address governance in Afghanistan.

Benchmarks Need to Measure Progress For months I’ve called for establishing a series of benchmarks to measure the new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They will help the American people see where progress is being made and what challenges remain.

This is the substance of a letter I sent to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following his recent appearance before the Armed Services Committee.

I am confident that he and others are measuring effective governance but urged him to make those benchmarks public when he and others on the National Security Council outline other military and diplomatic measures of progress.

Disrupt Dismantle and Defeat In my letter I also mentioned that our committee is waiting for an assessment on Afghanistan from General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander there. We need to know how U.S. strategy fits with the President’s goal to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.”

The President has noted the key role of governance in reversing the Taliban’s gains and promoting a more capable and accountable Afghan government. This is no small undertaking but it is absolutely essential for America to be able to eventually leave Afghanistan and to make sure it doesn’t again become a safe haven for al Qaeda and terrorists.

The forthcoming benchmarks and reports will demonstrate to those called to service in Afghanistan and to the American people what we hope to accomplish and how we will operationally achieve those goals.

Straightforward Approach My approach is an outgrowth of bipartisan work I undertook several years ago during the war in Iraq. I was troubled because there was no objective measure of our progress there and some groups said that we were winning, while others said that we were losing. In response, I helped draft bipartisan legislation that Congress approved and President Bush signed into law.

We established 18 benchmarks, or measurements, of economic, military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq. The benchmarks helped Congress and the American people gain a better understanding of our successes and challenges in Iraq. They helped play down a partisan debate over whether we were winning or losing.

We need to do the same as we see a buildup in Afghanistan so U.S. troops and the American people have a clear mission and a clear set of benchmarks to judge how it is progressing.