Experts divided on Obama's new Afghanistan strategy

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Nearly two weeks into a major U.S. offensive, experts here remain divided over whether U.S. President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan strategy will prove effective.

Operation Khanjar ("Strike of the Sword") is the first significant test of Obama's new counter insurgency strategy, experts said. Some say Afghans are fed up with the Taliban and will support U.S. efforts to drive them out. Others, however, say Afghans have lost patience with the United States and that a number of other hurdles may prove too steep.

The immediate goal is to beef up security in the country's most volatile areas and ensure safety during the August presidential elections.

In the long term, the U.S. military aims to create stability that allows development, regain locals' trust and transfer security duties to Afghan forces.

As part of the plan, U.S. troops will fan out across the country and work in small units -- in villages instead of isolated bases -- in an effort to develop infrastructure in a nation bereft of the most basic services. Critics, however, said winning over locals may prove difficult.

"I think the Afghan people have lost their patience," said Thomas Johnson, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, a university that educates military officers. "They had high expectations but we haven't delivered on our promises."