De defensa

…Nous parlons de la réalité afghane. Les dernières nouvelles sont vraiment très mauvaises, ce qui introduit un certain sens de tragique. Surtout, ces nouvelles concernent plusieurs aspects. The Independent du 28 octobre 2009 fait un article sur cette situation.

«The loss of eight more American soldiers yesterday, the resignation of a highly regarded US Foreign Service officer, and new tensions over next week's Afghan election run-off have combined to intensify pressure on Barack Obama as he edges towards a crucial decision on a major increase in US troop strength in Afghanistan.

»On Friday the President is to hold a further meeting with his military chiefs. He will be doing so at the end of the bloodiest single month in the conflict. The latest deaths bring to 55 the number of troops already killed in October, more than the previous high of 51 in August. They came the day after 14 US personnel died in separate helicopter accidents. In all more than 900 US soldiers have so far lost their lives in an eight-year war whose end is not in sight.»

S’il fallait choisir, nous dirions que, dans le contexte de la brutale aggravation de la situation en Afghanistan, c’est la démission de Matthew Hoh, le fonctionnaire en question, qui prend la plus grande signification. L’homme est un diplomate très bien considéré, un ancien capitaine du corps des Marines qui s’est couvert de gloire en Irak au combat, qui a également administré des missions de logistique très complexes. Aucune accusation d’être anti-guerre ou incompétent ne peut être lancée contre lui. Il explique dans sa lettre de démission qu’il juge la guerre, telle qu’elle est menée, absurde et contre-productive, “lui rappellant horriblement le Vietnam”.

Dans ce contexte, deux passages de l’article de The Independent doivent être mis en exergue. Ils doivent susciter des réflexions approfondies parce qu’ils témoignent d’une situation extraordinaire, nécessitant un commentaire… Voici ces deux passages.

«The resignation, revealed yesterday in The Washington Post, has sent shockwaves through the administration, which made repeated and strenuous efforts to change Mr Hoh's mind – including a one-on-one meeting with Richard Holbrooke, the special envoy for Afghanistan. “We took his letter very seriously,” Mr Holbrooke told the newspaper. He described Mr Hoh as a good officer, and admitting that he shared much of the diplomat's analysis, although not his conclusion. […]

»Later this week the now-resigned diplomat will meet with the chief foreign policy adviser of the Vice-President Joe Biden, the leading advocate in the administration of the approach favoured by Mr Hoh: a greater focus on Pakistan coupled with a scaled-down US combat presence in Afghanistan. “We have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve.”»

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