LESSONS ENCOUNTERED

The Surges in Iraq and Afghanistan
Iraq signed a pair of agreements that defined their bilateral relationship. This
included a Status of Forces Agreement that stipulated the departure of U.S.
forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.
In late 2009, the last of the coalition partners departed Iraq, and U.S. forces
started to reorganize for a transition to a new security arrangement. On
September 1, 2009, the United States declared the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom
and the beginning of Operation New Dawn. On January 1, 2010, MNF-I,
MNC-I, and Multi-National Security and Training Command–Iraq combined
to form U.S. Forces–Iraq (USF-I). During 2011, when it became obvious that
American forces would depart Iraq in their entirety by the end of the year,
USF-I continued the drawdown. On December 18, 2011, the last U.S. forces
in Iraq departed. The remaining forces were reorganized under the Office of
Security Cooperation–Iraq under a lieutenant general and subordinate to U.S.
Embassy Iraq. The mission was declared over.
Afghanistan Assessment and Adaptation
This section details the historical record of the Obama administration’s assessment
process and the resulting adaptation in strategy and force levels
in Afghanistan in 2009. 94 It should be kept in mind that unlike the previous
case study, this was a new administration, one in which routines, processes,
and personalities had not yet gelled. The President campaigned, however, on
an explicit platform that viewed the war in Afghanistan as a war of necessity,
compared to the invasion and subsequent insurgency in Iraq. The Bush
administration had conducted an exhaustive review in late 2008, recognizing
that events in Afghanistan were not trending in a positive way. 95 The Afghan
government did its own internal assessment and believed that nearly half of
the country’s 364 districts (166) were completely or substantially controlled by
the Taliban. 96 The late 2008 American review, led by Lieutenant General Douglas
Lute, USA, recommended a fully resourced COIN approach and additional
force levels to implement it. President Bush did not commit to a decisive shift
in strategy or force levels, given pending change in administration, and deferred
to the incoming President. 97
Within a few weeks of taking office, President Barack Obama requested
that former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Bruce Riedel conduct a quick
strategic assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. 98 Riedel had recently
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