A number of articles and comments are appearing which address the significance of the Eikenberry cables. Links to some of the most interesting will be provided here.
One important commentary, by a former intelligence official, points out the fact that President Obama had not ordered a National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan prior to reaching his decision on Afghanistan strategy and the “surge”. See Ray McGovern, “Obama Put Politics First on Afghanistan”, Counterpunch, January 28, 2010
The absence of a NIE is surprising in view of the Flynn report on the defects in U.S. military intelligence in that country. See Jon Boone, “US intelligence chief criticises spy failings in Afghanistan,” The Guardian (guardian.co.uk), January 5, 2010
The text of the Flynn report is highly interesting. See Major General Michael T. Flynn, Captain Matt Pottinger, Paul D. Batchelor, “Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan” (working paper), January 4, 2010
Many of the defects in U.S. military intelligence the Flynn report addresses had been noted over a year earlier. See Peter Beaumont, “Intelligence failures crippling fight against insurgents in Afghanistan, The Guardian, March 6, 2009.
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Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan intelligence, Barack Obama, David Petreus, diplomatic, Eikenberry cables, Karl Eikenberry, Karzai, NATO, Stanley McCrystal, United States Foreign Relations
[...] Commentary on Eikenberry Cables, Intelligence on Afghanistan January 28th, 2010 [...]
[...] Reading these cables, however, and Eikenberry’s cogent descriptions of what sound like insuperable obstacles to be overcome, it is difficult to discern grounds for optimism regarding the success of the current strategy. See also The Trenchant Observer, “Commentary on Eikenberry Cables, Intelligence on Afghanistan,” January 28th, 2010 [...]
[...] Publication of the Flynn report in January, 2010 revealed very serious shortcomings in U.S. military intelligence in the country. [...]