Commentary By Ron Beasley
Below we asked the question: is Obama marching into a quagmire in Afghanistan like LBJ marched into one in Vietnam? Well it's looking more and more like it all the time. Where have we heard this before?
U.S. Military Says Its Force in Afghanistan Is Insufficient
American military commanders with the NATO mission in Afghanistan told President Obama�s chief envoy to the region this weekend that they did not have enough troops to do their job, pushed past their limit by Taliban rebels who operate across borders.
The commanders emphasized problems in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents continue to bombard towns and villages with rockets despite a new influx of American troops, and in eastern Afghanistan, where the father-and-son-led Haqqani network of militants has become the main source of attacks against American troops and their Afghan allies.
To compound the problem support for the war is declining and midterm election campaigns will be in full swing in less than a year.
The White House has been concerned about declining support for the war among the American public. After recent polls illustrating the decline, Admiral Mullen and Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired general who is the ambassador to Afghanistan, went on Sunday talk shows to discuss the direction of the mission.
�I�m certainly aware of the criticality of support of the American people for this war and in fact, any war,� Admiral Mullen said on NBC�s �Meet the Press.� �And so certainly the numbers are of concern. That said, the president�s given me and the American military a mission, and that focuses on a new strategy, new leadership, and we�re moving very much in that direction.�
He said, �I believe we�ve got to start to turn this thing around from a security standpoint in the next 12 to 18 months.�
My guess would be less than 12 months and with the situation continuing to deteriorate It would appear unlikely that it will be turned around ever much less in 12 months.
No comments:
Post a Comment