U.S. plan B for Afghanistan has its own problems

By Sue Pleming - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While U.S. President Barack Obama wrestles with the idea of committing more troops to Afghanistan, a counter proposal is also on the table -- trim American forces and focus narrowly on counter-terrorism.

It is an idea associated with Vice President Joe Biden, and one that attracts many people who remember the morass that the Vietnam war became for the United States.

More resources would go towards training Afghan forces to fight their own war, and U.S. troops would be withdrawn gradually from the firing line. Pilotless drones, already striking targets in Pakistan's tribal areas, would be increasingly relied upon to hit al Qaeda's leadership and keep them on the defensive.

As a plan, it has its appeal, but it has plenty of critics too.

"I don't think it works," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert from the Brookings Institution.

"If you try to do counter-terrorism from long range then you lose the intelligence you need to carry out any intelligent strikes, because you no longer can protect the people who you need to give the good information."

Drone attacks inevitably cause civilian deaths and tend to fuel radical anti-Americanism. In the long run, the United States could even lose the use of air bases in the region.

Enough Western support could be provided to the Afghan government to perhaps prevent another Taliban takeover of Kabul, but huge swathes of eastern and southern Afghanistan would effectively be ceded to the radical movement.