Posted on 10/01/2009 5:36:31 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2009 – President Barack Obama is getting the ground-level perspective on Afghanistan, and soon will address the strategy and resources needed in the country, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said here today.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expects a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan in a matter of weeks, Morrell told MSNBC. “I would remind you that the Bush administration when they were deliberating whether or not to surge forces into Iraq took about three months to come to that conclusion,” he said.
Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, chief of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, recently submitted to the Pentagon and White House his assessment of Afghan operations and requirements. The general believes that the right strategy is more important than resources, Morrell said.
“We need to be much more focused on changing the strategy, changing how we behave on the ground in Afghanistan,” Morrell said. “If we are able to win the trust and confidence of the Afghan people, if they trust that we are there by their side and committed to being there for the duration, he believes we can succeed.”
The McChrystal strategy is making inroads with Gates, Morrell said. “The secretary, I think, is growing increasingly comfortable with that notion,” he said.
The secretary has said he is uncomfortable with a large foreign military presence in Afghanistan. “General McChrystal was making the case to him and to others that it’s not the size of the force; it’s how that force behaves” that matters most, the press secretary said.
McChrystal believes the Afghan people do not regard U.S. and NATO forces as occupiers, Morrell said. This will continue as long as International Security Assistance Force personnel ensure the population is protected and that civilian casualties are kept to the minimum.
Obama’s meeting yesterday with civilian and military leaders lasted three hours, Morrell said. Vice President Joe Biden; Gates; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones, the assistant to the president for national security; and Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command; participated.
McChrystal, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Ann Patterson joined the meeting by teleconference, Morrell said.
Maybe it was some “Dial a Fortune Teller?”
I’ve really got to hand it to McCrystal, putting himself out there like he’s been doing. Obama might just end up backing up and taking a dump on him, but he’s the perfect example of those who fight for what they believe in even it means losing everything.
Yes. typical of me.
And yes also - I am white. So what?
Whatever happend to measuring someone by the content of their character as opposed to the color of their skin?
YOU are a Racist.
It’s your argument, not mine.
Your Supposition, not mine.
YOUR FAILURE, not mine.
I am strong - and you are nothing more than a cravenly coward, hiding behind racial inuendo.
Gaudiamus igitur, juvenes dum sumos.
I have no problem with getting the strategy right. I’d prefer that the military commanders were the major players in determining the correct strategy, but it would be foolish to ignore political realities. (A good military commander would not do that.)
I can actually see an argument over going big versus going small. After all, Gen Franks won in Afghanistan by using a very small specialized force that mobilized local military power against the Taliban. If I were to go small, I’d go after economic relationship and hunter/killer teams of special ops.
The economic side would be the purchase from Afghanis of their entire poppy crop each year. That would deny the Taliban their cash crop, it would create relationships with local Afghanis, and it would put some kind of dent in the international drug trade.
The hunter/killer teams of spec ops would hunt down Taliban and Al Qaeda. The advantage of this is that it goes directly after our enemy. Also, opposing foreign military attempting to run their country is almost a rite-of-passage to manhood in tribal Afghanistan. These teams would be focused on eradicating the Taliban, a group that was not uniformly liked prior to Franks’ engineered overthrow.
I don’t have any problem at all with McChrystal’s plan. I’m just saying that it isn’t sacrosanct and rethinking it isn’t a crime.
Lincoln rethought the Civil War a couple of times. Then he hit on Grant who decided to use the overwhelming force advantage that the north possessed. Grant was correct.
so when will we see the expose on the alphabet soup news? You know, the story about the US president ignoring the safety of our troops so he can be in Denmark.....
One last note.
Resolute? Spare me. A more amoeba-like person has not yet existed on this planet.
Feel free to reply - if you have the backbone too. Lol.
Likely be between the time of when hell freezes over and never
Thanks for the ping though!
Likely be between the time of when hell freezes over and never
Yeah, that is what I thought too, I had a hard time setting my DVR to record it.
Guess I should have marked it as sarcasm, eh?
I suspect so.
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