Afghanistan: The London Conference

The family photograph of delegates at Lancaster House attending the Afghanistan, The London Conference in London, UK Jan. 28, 2010. (Photo by: Geoff Caddick/newsteam.co.uk/Crown Copyright - For editorial purposes only - For further inquiries please contact News Team International)

I'm in California this week to give a couple of talks on NATO, Europe, and cyberspace – all of which have a lot in common. I'll be speaking up north in Monterey, and down south in San Diego. It is always pleasant to return to the west coast where I spent so much of my seagoing career – well over a decade in four assignments at sea. Both of my daughters were born here, as well. California is full of memories.

Yet, at the moment, I am thinking about a superb international event that happened last week: the International London Conference on Afghanistan. Last week, I wrote about my last trip to Afghanistan as we prepared for it. The media has thoroughly covered the conference (here’s a sample of recent coverage, based on an interview with me), and you can watch key presentations online, like this one from Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s review of the conference on his video blog. So rather than reiterating what's already been said, I thought I'd share with you some personal thoughts and impressions, and my interpretations of the atmospherics.

First of all, it was held in the historic Lancaster House, literally around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Given the seniority of the delegations, the crush of black SUVs pulling up to the front door was staggering. As I walked into the ornate Victorian building, I felt a real sense of luck to be part of the NATO team led by our Secretary General. As I saw 80 delegations from around the world gather to reaffirm their support for Afghanistan, I was amazed, excited and -- above all else -- honored to play a small part in this essential effort, working with so many smart, dedicated professionals, both in and out of uniform from so many countries.

I was struck by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's sense of resolve. The British, of course, have a long history in Afghanistan and understand it well in all of its challenges and opportunities. The Prime Minister clearly believes in the mission, and was particularly welcoming to who spoke after him.

His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, at Lancaster House speaking the Afghanistan, The London Conference in London, UK Jan. 28, 2010. (Photo: newsteam.co.uk/Crown Copyright - For editorial purposes only - For further inquiries please contact News Team International)

President Karzai spoke very passionately about his plans for his nation in his second term. While he addressed all aspects of the challenges ahead – governance, corruption, security, economics – I was particularly impressed with his thoughts on reconciliation. I do believe some level of political reintegration of parts of the Taliban will be helpful in resolving the situation in Afghanistan, and it clearly must be led by the Afghans. The President seemed prepared to open that dialogue.

One of my very close friends in Afghanistan is their superb Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak. He was singularly convincing and moving in his speech about Afghan security forces – including an honest assessment of the challenges in building up to the right level of forces and fully integrating them with the coalition security team. I believe that process is underway and going reasonably well at this point.

In both my remarks and those of General Stan McChrystal who followed me, we spoke of the courage and tenacity of the Afghan security forces, who are sustaining 75% of the casualties in the conflict. They are clearly "in the fight,” and their capabilities are growing. I pointed out the good job they had done repelling attacks in Kabul last week without coalition assistance, as well as the increasingly complex missions they are undertaking, like the special forces raid conducted on January 4th from Afghan-piloted MI-17 helicopters.

We were followed by superb interventions (which is NATO for "presentations”) from a wide variety of nations that properly focused on governance and development, including an address by UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon. Secretary General Rasmussen also spoke very directly and clearly about the commitment of the alliance to this vital undertaking.

Overall, it seemed to me that there was a tangible sense of resolve and unity amongst the participants. Our strategy is clear, and while it will be difficult, there is renewed determination and momentum behind it.

After California, I'll be passing through Belgium en route to Istanbul for the NATO Defense Ministerial and then close out the week in Germany for the Munich Security Conference. The Munich Security Conference is to the international security community what the Oscars is to Hollywood … minus the red carpet, the awards, the movie stars, and the fashion. Everyone will be there, and the conversations will be fascinating. I'll fill you in next week on the details!

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe