Posted on 09/21/2009 9:50:02 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned President Barack Obama in a confidential report that the war against the Taliban could be lost within a year without more troops.
In a grim assessment of the eight-year conflict leaked to the Washington Post and published Monday, General Stanley McChrystal said a new strategy was needed and warned that "inadequate resources will likely result in failure.
"Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible," he wrote.
The report was presented to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on August 30 and is being reviewed by the White House, with McChrystal widely expected to make a formal request to increase the 62,000-strong US force.
McChrystal, who assumed command of international troops in Afghanistan in June, said the campaign in Afghanistan "has been historically under-resourced and remains so today."
This fact risks "a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs, and ultimately, a critical loss of political support. Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure," he wrote.
The 66-page document -- a declassified version of which is published at www.washingtonpost.com -- describes a strengthening, intelligent Taliban insurgency.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This is BS! The war is winnable, we have to up our nasty factor. Be thorough and keep it quiet. No MSM what so ever. A little harsh, but after awhile there is a breaking point at the Mr. Nice guy level.
Way to play chess sir.....while catching this WH playing checkers on this issue of NS.
There is a huge downside if we quit in Afghanistan. We will leave the country in the same shape it was before, in a state of civil war. The Taliban will continue to host terrorist training camps. The Pakistani government will continue to allow travel in and out of Afghanistan of terrorists.
We are going to have to fight this war. The question is whether we fight it in Afghanistan or on the streets the Western World.
As I understand it there are villages that have risked much to *save* our troops. I don’t think we can generalize here. (Making the situation all the more difficult)
zero: “Allah akbar!”
The key to Afghanistan has always been, since Spring 2002, the safe sanctuaries in Pakistan, whose army, elites, politicians and jihadis been absolutely Machiavellian in their dealings with America.
I don’t think we have the will in the country for the effort required.
The domestic timetable of next year’s elections may be driving this more than anything else, with many Democrats wanting to bug out. Obama may well have to depend on the Republicans for any further Afghani effort.
Don’t think he will. Let’s see.
We’ll end up back there anyway in a few years.
In the meantime, the region seems to be preparing for a power vacuum in Afghanistan.....there’s an article posted (search keyword india).....
A tried, true and ancient method: Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.
So far, all we have done is stomp an anthill and watch ‘em swarm up our leg. I’d dust the hill, but I’m not holding the insect powder. We can never pacify them, only kill them.
We can’t ask our troops to do what is necessary. I wouldn’t let my troops wipe out a village for supporting Al Qaeda - these guys gotta live with themselves and we have to bring them home someday.
Fortunately, there IS another way.
As you pointed out, there is no “Afghanistan.” There are a bunch of tribes whose attitudes toward each other range from distrust to outright hatred and contempt. We should exploit this and keep our troops out of harm’s way.
We need to recruit a “colonial” force from a single, favored tribe to do the things we can’t and shouldn’t ask of our troops - like wiping out entire villages for supporting or sheltering Al Qaeda or the Taliban.
Our presence should be limited to providing the air support and other support (mostly technological) functions the various tribes are incapable of providing themselves. With a little luck, we don’t sustain any casualties that we actually care about.
Hopefully, “our” tribe will eventually become supreme. Then there might be some hope of a “nation” of Afghanistan.
If they don't they will be obliterated. I remember when the press started going batty over the "Taliban Offensive," or what the rest of the world calls Spring.
How hard is it to send more troops? I mean he’s already removed many from Iraq and this was suppose to be the place of focus....now he’s seemly giving up on it.....I don’t get it...
Simply untrue but this has to be the best kept secret of the year. 130,000 troops remain in Iraq, about as many as when he took office.
As to you broader point, I can't understand why do conservatives want to give Obama more blood and treasure to help a bunch of corrupt warlords in Afghanistan. What's the deal with that?
No problem with killing each and every little old lady and baby in those tribes, eh? That's what "obliterate" means btw. Just so we're clear.
It takes a Democrat to lose a war.
As Little Ray said, we could pay an Afghan tribe to do our "dirty work" for us. It would be a lot cheaper than the way we're doing it right now, both in blood and money.
With the size of the Army there are not enough troops to rest them any longer. Families are shortchanged, the men and women's morale is suffering and the equipment, tanks, armored fighting vehicles, trucks, HMMV's, helicopters, radios, etc. are wearing out at something like three times the non wartime rate. Currently, the Army has about 44 combat brigades in total. Divide that number by the number of missions they have to cover: Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa, Korea, etc. and you see that there just aren't enough to go around.
Unfortunately, even with the USMC's 201,000 troops and the National Guard and Reserves the ground forces of the United States are stretched to the max. Ad to that the fact that BHOzo's ideology and his minions are utterly incompetent and we have the mess we're in.
Of course there are those who argue that this whole thing is Boosh's fault...like he attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
If Obama can't answer those questions, its time to leave...
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