On CNN’s State of the Union this morning, National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.) said that even in the wake of a bloody battle in eastern Afghanistan that killed eight U.S. troops — the deadliest attack in Afghanistan in more than a year — the country “is not in danger — imminent danger — of falling.”
“I don’t foresee the return of the Taliban,” he said.
Jones also said that “the al Qaeda presence is very diminished” in Afghanistan. “The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country,” he said, adding that al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan have no bases or real ability to launch effective attacks.
Of course, none of that means the war in Afghanistan is going particularly well. To turn things around, Jones said the keys in Afghanistan are improving security, promoting economic development and ensuring good governance and the rule of law.
“On that score, we have a lot more work to do and the Karzai government is going to have to pitch in and do much better than they have,” Jones said.
As for Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s assessment that without tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops the Afghanistan war is unwinnable, Jones said the Obama administration is “examining different options” and “will have vigorous debates” in the upcoming weeks.
CNN’s John King asked Jones whether he thought Gen. McChrystal would stay on if President Obama doesn’t grant his request for more troops. Jones said he believes McChrystal is “in it for the long haul.” When asked whether McChrystal had been out of line in publicly promoting his desire for more troops, Jones said, “Ideally, it’s best for military advice to come up through the chain of command.”
King also showed a video of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) accusing Jones and others of factoring into Afghanistan calculations a desire to not “alienate the left base.”
“I don’t play politics,” Jones said. “And I certainly don’t play it with national security.”
He continued:
The strategy does not belong to any political party. And I can assure you that the President of the United States is not playing to any political base. I take exception to that remark.
Jones also tried to downplay a New York Times report saying that Iran has the information and data it needs to build a functioning atom bomb, stressing instead that progress was made last week when Iran agreed to “some degree of cooperation.”
On Gitmo, Jones said the Obama administration is “hard at work” closing the prison there within the President’s first year in office. “I still hope that we’ll be able to meet that deadline,” he said.
And a possible repeal on the military ban on gays? Jones implied that it’s not at the top of the President’s To Do list, but also said the timetable for that move is “not years.”
