Gates Signals He’s Open to More Troops in Afghanistan

[laststeamtrain]

Source: NYT

September 4, 2009
Gates Signals He’s Open to More Troops in Afghanistan
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates signaled on Thursday that he was open to an increase in American troops in Afghanistan and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there was now a “sense of urgency” about the eight-year-old war and that “time is not on our side.”

In a joint news conference with Admiral Mullen at the Pentagon, Mr. Gates said his previous concerns about the American “footprint” becoming too big in Afghanistan had been “mitigated” by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, President Obama’s hand-picked commander who took over American and NATO forces in the country in June.

Mr. Gates said that although he had long been worried that a large number of American forces would alienate the Afghan population, as happened when the Russians had 120,000 troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s, he was taking seriously the views of General McChrystal, who has indicated that the size of the force is less important than what it does.

“Where foreign forces have had a large footprint and failed in no small part has been because the Afghans concluded they were there for their own imperial interests and not there for the interests of the Afghan people,” Mr. Gates said. But he said that Mr. McChrystal’s efforts since June to reduce civilian casualties and interact more with Afghans “has given us a greater margin of error in that respect.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/us/politics/04military.html?hp

[BobRossi]

1. Change "Gates" to "McNamara".

Same story, same outcome.

[pleah]

2. Growing opposition to the war in Afghanistan? Well, hell let's send more troops!

Not surprised. Just angry.

[saigon68]

8. How many will die for the Present Occupant's wet dream

On NBC they were talking about building up Afghan's "Infrastructure"

I'm sure Halliburton etc. is eying that prospect with GLEE

More cash kickbacks to corrupt afghan locals, more contractors "guarding", more targets for the resistance to blow up

$$$$$ for all who are connected

Meanwhile in amerika in some Bum-Fuck village a family welcomes home one of their children in a cold gray "remains container"

[pleah]

11. And, don't forget the pipeline and poppies. n/t

[madrchsod]

3. where`s country joe?

it`s about time we get serious about protesting the war in Afghanistan. the russian people were never told about how badly the war was going until the causalities became so great the people finally found out. we do not have that excuse. we are attacking an enemy that did nothing to us while we let the real bad guys get away. dicky could`t get his pipeline so it`s war!

[laststeamtrain]

5. On the 7th he'll be at the Sausalito Art Festival. He's probably in Berkeley right now.

http://www.countryjoe.com/

[naaman fletcher]

4. There needs to be less..

I was for the original move into Afghanistan (perhaps incorrectly), and it worked well for a while.. now it is not. The reason it worked well is precisely because there were not a lot of troops. There were a few hundred special forces types who had broad mandates, without much supervision, to get the job done. They made alliances with chiefatans against the Taliban, and they directed air strikes to help those forces.

With a few hundred guys on the ground the Taliban were almost totally defeated.

Then we brought the Army in and occupied the place and interfered with their cultures and customs.. suddenly we find ourselves in the same place as every other occupied country has in Afghanistan.

[PeaceDreamer]

6. Good Morning VietNam

Obama is making a mess of Afghanistan and every commenter on this thread is correct. Less is more. This will end in disaster for the US and Obama.

[steven johnson]

7. Afghanistan is considered the 'Graveyard of Empires'

Lyndon Johnson in his private conversations admitted that the Viet Nam War might not be winnable but he didn't want to be accused of losing a war. I worry that Barack Obama is using a strategy of blunting attacks from the Right.

Lying About Vietnam

Afghanistan looking more like Vietnam

[laststeamtrain]

9. McClatchy: Mullen reminded reporters that, "I am a Vietnam veteran"

Military leaders: U.S. effort in Afghanistan just beginning
By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers

<snip>

Although no one had compared Afghanistan to Vietnam , Mullen reminded reporters that, "I am a Vietnam veteran" and said, "We have a mission that we're doing the best we possibly can to carry out."

In an apparent attempt to argue that America's security is at stake in Afghanistan , Gates said that before the Sept. 11, 2001 , attacks, the Taliban not only provided al Qaida refuge, but also "cooperated and collaborated" with the terrorist group. Because of that, he said, the U.S. must ensure that a stable government exists in Afghanistan so the Taliban — and ultimately al Qaida — can't return.

Although no one asked Gates whether the U.S. was engaged in nation building in Afghanistan , he said that the U.S. effort to train Afghan security forces and support local governance isn't that.

"It seems to me that we're in Afghanistan less for nation building than we are for giving Afghanistan the capacity to oppose al Qaida ; to oppose the use of their territory by other violent extremists," Gates said.

On Thursday, Gates finessed his position on whether the U.S. footprint could become too large. Until now, he's fretted about sending more than 100,000 troops to Afghanistan — roughly the number the Soviet Union had during its war in Afghanistan — out of fear that the U.S. and its allies would appear to be another occupying force.

According to Pentagon figures, there currently are 101,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan .

<more>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090903/wl_mcclatchy/3305442

[No Elephants]

10. Gates open to more troops somewhere--anywhere? Shocking.

[fascisthunter]

12. of course he is... it's not his skin (nt)

[Xenotime]

13. I WANT TROOPS OUT NOW!!!