Posted on 09/22/2009 8:33:29 PM PDT by Wardak
Troops React to McChrystal Report
The soldiers I have talked to in Afghanistan say they would welcome more troops, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal has recommended - any help they can get to get out of here and get back home.
The war here is under-resourced, under-funded and until recently largely ignored in favor of the war in Iraq. There is double the number of troops in Iraq than in Afghanistan right now - and many wonder why Iraq was allowed to distract us from the gains made here early on in the war.
But even if more troops are sent to Afghanistan - it’s not enough, they say. The key to winning - whatever that means - is getting the Afghan government and security forces to stand up for themselves and to stop the corruption that is so prevalent here. The soldiers can train Afghan army and police all day long, but until there is a comittment on their part to make things better, it won’t do any good.
The sense is that U.S. and NATO troops are just holding on here, doing what they can during their deployment until the next unit comes along. They understand the need to protect the people - a main tenent of counterinsurgency - but that also means fighting the enemy. And that has become more difficult as McChrystal and Afghan President Hamid Karzai continue to require that Afghan security forces accompany them on patrols and arrests. Simply put, that’s just not a realistic request. There are too few Afghan forces here and the ones that are on the payroll often don’t bother to show up to work.
Still, even if more troops and more Afghan forces were in place to combat the enemy and provide security for the people - many soldiers question the end-game in Afghanistan - especially as Pakistan and other nations continue to provide a safe haven for the bad guys.
As one soldier put it to me: “It’s like a game of whack-a-mole. You hit one and they pop up somewhere else.”
All said, the soldiers here are dedicated. They want nothing more than to make a difference. They want to “win” - not only to make the world a safer place, but for the friends they have lost in this long, deadly war.
We can’t withdraw we’re still paying for doing just that in Vietnam. We need to stay and give our soldiers the tools they need to finish the job.
And what do we have? A whiny boy to whom EVERYTHING is a crisis, except supporting the Troops.
_resident jOker needs to step down.
Bush published his National Security Strategy three times while serving as President.
Obama has yet to publish his.
Audio: ‘Administration doesn’t really know what its diplomatic strategy will be’
John Bolton: Obama both ‘naïve’ and ‘arrogant’ (Audio) wnd.com | 7/31/2009 | John Bolton
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305898/posts
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2320.htm
Nobody is talking about this. But, it is important to military leaders to use the Strategy as a guideline and consideration for making leadership decisions.
He has no strategy published.
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/nss.pdf
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/2008%20national%20defense%20strategy.pdf
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/nsc/
Obamas Current Page.
Yes he did. Oddly enough, many claimed ignorance even tho it was out there for all to see.
Yep. And nothing from the current CIC.
The State Dept., CIA, FBI, JCIS, Heads of the US Military, and military leaders from General Officers down to Senior Non-Commissioned Officers are left rudderless.
This guy continues to vote present.
Well...I don’t consider him a legitimate cic, or anything else. Perhaps this will get the military thinking of alternatives.
.
Obviously Obama needs to take a break from his TV appearances and other distractions and hide out at Camp David for a couple of days with Bill Ayers in order to craft the document.
Yep. And I want to see it.
I’m currently on my second deployment to Afganistan. The two biggest problems we have here are the ISAF rules and the corruption of the Afghan government. When I was here in 2006-2007 we had the exact same problems plus we were being ignored due to the war in Iraq. From where I’m standing it doesn’t matter if the President is Bush or Obama. The same mistakes are being made. The difference this time is people are paying attention.
The thing that gets me the most is Zero has no real definition of victory. How hard can this possibly be? There isn’t a 12 step plan to victory with a million criteria, there’s only three steps: Go in...Kill the enemy...Get out. And what happens then? VICTORY!
If the mission was kill em and leave we should have left in 2003. Staying here was the right thing to do. But our support of an increasingly corrupt Afghan government is our biggest failure. The longer we wait to either force the Afghan goverment to get its act togather or break ties with that government the worse it’s going to be.
Granted, Afghanistan has never had the government structure that Iraq had, but its people have had a long history of countries coming in to 'help', then leaving when things got hot for them. They don't want to stick their necks out, only to have their heads chopped off when the 'helping' force leaves.
The Democrats screamed for years that President Bush should leave Iraq, in favor of Afghanistan, since it was that country that harbored Osama bin Laden. I guess, as shown by their tepid reactions to McChrystal's requests, they didn't really mean it, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. They only did it then, to try to make President Bush look bad.
You hit the nail squarely on the head.
And what do you think is the catalyst for this difference? Is it because, relatively-speaking, things have calmed down a little in Iraq?
And a sincere, heart-felt thanks to you and your fellow soldiers for your service to this country.
Yes I do. Last time I was here all you heard about was Iraq. Some of my friends and family were surprised there was still a war in Afghanistan.
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