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| Afghanistan | |
| General Petraeus told he 'must succeed' in Afghanistan | |
| 2008-09-20 | |
| The man behind the "surge" strategy in Iraq will take charge of US Central Command tasked with bringing fresh direction to an Afghan campaign that was seen as "marking time". But he will face a tough battle to bring unity to the 40 nations and 53,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan that come under several different chiefs. In a downbeat assessment of the current state of the campaign in Afghanistan, the officer said there was "100 per cent chance of success if we do it the right way but if we do it the wrong way there is a zero per cent chance".
Gen Petraeus will look to unite commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq for "unity of purpose" so there could be "unity of effort," the military official told defence correspondents in London. Adding to his concerns a district governor in southern Afghanistan allied to President Hamid Karzai has been killed in a "misunderstanding" between coalition and Afghan forces. Roozi Khan, the governor of Chora district in Uruzgan province, was shot dead at his home but no details were released. Following comments made by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, that Britain may increase its force next year the US officer said "force strength from elsewhere would be welcome". American troops are expected to surge to Afghanistan in increasing numbers from 30,000 to 44,000 next year. "You will get more combat operations for a period of time," the officer said. The US official said American military power was "finite" and that there was a "bottom line" on resources. Although he was not "despairing" it was up to the community of nations to "embrace the challenge" of Afghanistan and "honest leadership" was needed. To resolve the problems of Afghanistan it would take a "long time" if not a couple of decades. Iran was singled out as a "malign influence" for its "seepage" of weapons across the border. The officer said America would not tolerate the arrival of more armour piercing bombs, known as explosive formed projectiles, from Iran. He said rogue elements of the Iranian regime, not necessarily connected to the government, were using "front companies" to fund the military operations in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. The officer suggested that US forces would "selectively go after nodes of that network" but ruled out any "combat operations in Iran". It is expected that Gen David McKiernan, the current US commander, will unite the commands of the International Security Assistance Force and the mainly US special forces of Operation Enduring Freedom under the banner of Commander Forces Afghanistan. | |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #7 But he will face a tough battle to bring unity to the 40 nations Why does rounding up cats come to mind? |
| Posted by: tipper 2008-09-20 19:18 |
| #6 Gen Petreaus has never seen failure as an option in anything. The only thing that will defeat him will be Obama, if he is 'elected.' |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-20 17:19 |
| #5 Actually Richard they've interpreted directions in manners that indicated they understood they were to 'manage' the situation or to 'avoid defeat' which is not the same as 'winning'. The decades along our border with Mexico when Apaches raided into our country and then ran back behind 'sovereign' borders handed commanders a similar situation in which they were not permitted to 'solve' the issue with a pure military solution. It just wasn't the State Department wags in the way, but also a post Civil War Congress dominated by the Democrats who wouldn't give the military the means to carry any such operation out. [It took the vicious raids into Texas by the Apache, to convince enough Texas Democrats to actually get the Army's funding bill through one year. Otherwise, there was to be no funding at all. Payback for Reconstruction.] |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-09-20 15:55 |
| #4 Has a new general in command ever been told that it's ok if he fails? The task before the general is very difficult to succeed at, but this guy's been through all that in Iraq. He's better at these things than we are. Back off on the lecturing and just watch and learn. He may fail, but don't plant that in our minds. Bad luck. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-09-20 14:41 |
| #3 Darrell, I'm not sure I'd place that bet on President Obama if the war lasts more than a year or so. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-09-20 13:54 |
| #2 The Pakistan military had better get its act together, because Petraeus WILL succeed in Afghanistan and on both sides of the Pakistan border, so the jihadis that survive will be infecting deeper into Pakistan. The more jihadis Pakistan kills now, the better off their country will be. Neither McCain nor Obama are going to back out of this one. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-09-20 11:07 |
| #1 General Petraeus told he 'must succeed' in |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-09-20 11:03 |