Reply #36

“The reason we are there, senator, is because our mission is to dismantle, destroy, and defeat al Qaida and their terrorist allies,” Panetta said. “Our ultimate goal here has to be an Afghanistan that can control and secure itself and make sure that it can never again become a safe haven where terrorists can plan attacks,”.

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/28/10532454-afghanistan-unrest-stirs-worries-but-doesnt-shake-commitment

"I think at most, we're looking at maybe 50 to 100 , maybe less," Panetta said on ABC News This Week on June 27, 2010. "It's in that vicinity. There's no question that the main location of al-Qaeda is in tribal areas of Pakistan."

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/04/how_many_al_qaeda_operatives_a.php

There were about 91,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan at the end of 2011. Obama has pledged to withdraw 23,000 troops by the end of this summer and most combat troops by the end of 2014 as NATO hands over security responsibility to the Afghans.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/11/v-print/2688622/major-questions-surrounding-the.html

So...we have anywhere from 1,820 to 910 troops per "al Qaeda operative" in Afghanistan...and that's conservative.

And...why are we there? Bueller? Bueller?