Gates urges no timeline for leaving Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Gates urges no timeline for leaving Afghanistan
By Jim Kuhnhenn - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 27, 2009 12:48:11 EDT

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pushing back against liberal calls for withdrawal timelines from Afghanistan, saying it’s a mistake to set a deadline to end U.S. military action and a defeat would be disastrous for the U.S.

In a stern warning to critics of a continued troop presence in Afghanistan, Gates said the Islamic extremist Taliban and al-Qaida would perceive an early pullout as a victory over the United States as similar to the Soviet Union’s humiliating withdrawal in 1989 after a 10-year war.

“The notion of timelines and exit strategies and so on, frankly, I think would all be a strategic mistake. The reality is, failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States,” Gates said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Taliban and al-Qaida, as far as they’re concerned, defeated one superpower. For them to be seen to defeat a second, I think, would have catastrophic consequences in terms of energizing the extremist movement, al-Qaida recruitment, operations, fundraising and so on. I think it would be a huge setback for the United States.”

Gates’ pointed remarks came as President Barack Obama re-examines his administration’s strategy in Afghanistan and as the Pentagon sits on a request for additional troops from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/ap_gates_afghanistan_092709/


GTFON!

[AllentownJake]

1. I guess the Soviets would still be around if they just stayed there longer

and put more troops on the ground.

[MadHound]

2. Of course not,

The corporate masters of this and the past administration in the MI complex want to make billions for as long as they can. They don't care that this gross waste of resources and money will kill this country, and that millions here at home will die needlessly due to lack of funding and services, they just want to make even more obscene amounts of money.

Sadly, the Obama administration wants to go along with this. Perpetual war:puke: