Posted on 08/10/2009 10:02:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The Taliban have gained the upper hand in Afghanistan, the top American commander there said, forcing the U.S. to change its strategy in the eight-year-old conflict by increasing the number of troops in heavily populated areas like the volatile southern city of Kandahar, the insurgency's spiritual home.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned that means U.S. casualties, already running at record levels, will remain high for months to come.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the commander offered a preview of the strategic assessment he is to deliver to Washington later this month, saying the troop shifts are designed to better protect Afghan civilians from rising levels of Taliban violence and intimidation. The coming redeployments are the clearest manifestation to date of Gen. McChrystal's strategy for Afghanistan, which puts a premium on safeguarding the Afghan population rather than hunting down militants.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander, is making protection of civilians a priority over hunting Taliban rebels.
Gen. McChrystal said the Taliban are moving beyond their traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan to threaten formerly stable areas in the north and west.
The militants are mounting sophisticated attacks that combine roadside bombs with ambushes by small teams of heavily armed militants, causing significant numbers of U.S. fatalities, he said. July was the bloodiest month of the war for American and British forces, and 12 more American troops have already been killed in August.
"It's a very aggressive enemy right now," Gen. McChrystal said in the interview Saturday at his office in a fortified NATO compound in Kabul. "We've got to stop their momentum, stop their initiative. It's hard work."
In an effort to regain the upper hand, Gen. McChrystal said he will redeploy some troops currently in sparsely populated areas to areas with larger concentrations of
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I wonder where the antiwar demonstrations went?
I thought things were going pretty well in Afghanistan... at least up until just about 7 months or so ago... what changed???
Oh...wait...
Nevermind. Praying for our troops.
That is a good question. But ya know the saying by the moonbats: “it’s only an evil war if a Republican is president”.
Or, 'it's only an evil war if America is winning it.'
They're busy attacking senior citizens who ask questions about Obamacare.
What happened to General Petraeus? I thought he was in charge of Afghanistan now?
I thought the magic negro was going to focus on winning?
“Taliban Now Winning... Quagmire” = Obama Mission Accomplished.
Beware of hyped reporting, even from the Wall Street Journal. A sidebar article said that Taliban Attack Afghan Town.
Eight Taliban on a suicide mission took over a building in a lightly guarded little town and they were wiped out after killing three Afghanis.
Watch to see if this is made into the Viet Cong attack on the US Embassy during Tet 1968. The VC never got into the embassy despite poor reporting that they had, and all 8-11 got killed for their troubles.
However, you would have thought that the Alamo had fallen again if you read the press in the US.
See Don Oberdorfer’s “TET” and Peter Braestrap’s “The Big Story” for the truth.
The Failed Democratic Party© and The Failed Obama Administration© are clueless of history. They and their media hacks led folks to believe that Iraq was a mistake and the real threat was Afghanistan. How very wrong they were (as usual). These deaths are the fault of Obama and the Democrats. Period...
Defeat rescued from the jaws of victory?
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander, is making protection of civilians a priority over hunting Taliban rebels.
Is somebody freaking kidding me?
Well gee, what a frickin’ surprise.
I guess this is what happens when our troops are ordered NOT to shoot.
just SWAT the Taliban
They are NOT winning ....we are kicking the snot out of them in Helmand
Where? Detroit, maybe?
He drastically restricted the rules of engagement so as to offer the enemy cover anywhere near civilian populations, and has pretty much banned pursuit, or the security check of women.
So, they fire on our troops or plant IEDs, many times from civilian areas or afterwards running for the civilian areas to avoid pursuit, and then dress as women in full burkha covering and simply walk past our forces in groups of women to escape.
And of course, they are terrorists, so they are civilians living in civilian areas in the first place. So by banning so-called civilian areas for military operations, Obama has literally banned our troops from the battlefield, while simultaniously requiring them to remain in a position where they can be constantly targeted by the enemy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.