Posted on 01/17/2008 1:19:16 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
THE BUSH administration's decision to dispatch an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan raises the question of whether NATO 's participation in the war has been a failure. Though the United States already provides more than half of the 53,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, the additional Marines are needed because no other NATO country was willing, despite months of pleading and cajoling by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates , to commit fresh forces to the troubled southern provinces where the Taliban has made a comeback.
What's more, Mr. Gates and other senior Pentagon officials seem to have concluded that the three NATO countries that have been willing to operate in the south -- Britain , Canada and the Netherlands -- have been relatively ineffective. Mr. Gates told the Los Angeles Times this week that "most of the European forces, NATO forces, are not trained in counterinsurgency"; the Pentagon believes they are too averse to casualties, too reluctant to patrol and too dependent on artillery and airstrikes. The Post's Karen DeYoung reported that U.S. commanders criticize British troops for failing to retain control over areas taken from the Taliban and for advancing a "colonial" strategy of backing local militias rather than working with the national Afghan army.
European diplomats and NATO's defenders furiously respond that the American complaints are unfounded. Almost all of the alliance's members have increased their commitment to Afghanistan in the past year, they point out, helping to raise the troop level under NATO command from 33,000 to 41,000. The troubles in the south, they say, are the result of NATO forces penetrating an area that U.S. commanders had neglected, allowing the Taliban to flourish. British officials say their strategy in Helmand province is comparable to the successful U.S. alliances with Sunni militias in Iraq .
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
bttt
bttt
Thats a seriously ill-informed excuse for journalism from the Washington Post. Total garbage.
How dare Gates criticise British forces for not doing a good job. We have cleared the Lower Helmand basin, and are working our way through the upper Helmand region how. Operations Achilles, Kryptonite, the Siege of Sangin, Lastay Kulang and the recent re-capture of Musa Qala, prove our soldiers can and do fantastic work in the South. Being belittled unfairly by a supposed ‘ally’ is a shot to the nads.
Who needs enemies when we have friends like these?????
Nevertheless, we need to have more help from our NATO allies. I do not think a failed state is in the interests of Europe.
Its always better to have more troops on the ground of course, but political realities sometimes get in the way of common sense. If there are issues, then lets get together again and thrash them out. But its best not to conduct business through the media. Just look at the reaction. Its basically terrible diplomacy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.