Posted on 10/06/2009 3:32:58 PM PDT by jazusamo
Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said that the situation in Afghanistan needs “sustained and substantial” commitment.
His statements echoed the assessment made by the senior U.S. general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal.
However, Petraeus, in his comments Tuesday to a convention of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), refused to detail what a substantial commitment means and whether it would translate to sending more troops into Afghanistan.
McChrystal was criticized for airing his views on the Afghanistan war in a public forum as President Barack Obama works on a strategy to tackle growing security concerns in Afghanistan. McChrystal has asked for up to 40,000 more troops amid reports of mounting casualties in the eight-year war.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the same AUSA convention on Monday that military officers should provide their recommendations to the president in private.
Petraeus said that Obama will meet Wednesday with military leaders to continue deliberations on how to resource the Afghanistan strategy. There will be another meeting several days after that.
“This has been a very substantial endeavor,” Petraeus said. “It is moving quite rapidly.”
Petraeus stressed the need for boosting the Afghan security forces, something that senior Democrats, particularly Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.), are pressing for. Petraeus also said that a legitimate Afghan government is a “key ingredient” to any successful counterinsurgency strategy.
Petraeus has not spoken publicly about the state of operations in the Central Command area of responsibility for months. That area includes the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and countries in North Africa.
Petraeus, who made headlines with the implementation of the troop surge in Iraq, has been an absent voice in the public debate about the war in Afghanistan. Petraeus spent significant time in the speech talking about Iraq, noting the “vastly reduced” attacks, but expressed his view that some high-profile, violent attacks still pose concern.
Petraeus’s speech to AUSA on Tuesday came shortly after a meeting at the White House between Obama and congressional leaders from both parties to discuss the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Yep, a shot across the bow of Obama.
Well, well, well, so the gauntlet is down.
No half measures, Mr, President, either double down, go deep and go long or fuggedaboutit!
Is the Good General in the early stages of Potomac Fever?
Well then the tried and true method to win wars is
- Congressional declaration of war
- Overwhelming force
- Exit strategy
If the country can’t do that, the country is not behind the troops so bring them out of harm’s way.
“This has been a very substantial endeavor,” Petraeus said. “It is moving quite rapidly.”
Sounds like someone took the living breathing junior messiah community organizer aside and reminded him he's actually is the CINC.
Only thousands of soldiers lives depend on his decisions and I guess he figured out soldiers coming home in bodies bags are a political liability especially if you are acting completely clueless and incompetent and your military decisions smack of political shenanigans
Yes, it does sound like it and none too soon. Putting off decisions like this for weeks and weeks because he wants to find out how the political winds are blowing does not cut it.
Somebody reminded someone that dead men’s bodies piling up under his command because of his indecision will come back to haunt them at election time.
Shouldn’t ‘Betrayus’ just shut up and salute, too. I hate DC Democrats and I hate the media.
The MSM will give him a pass on just about everything, but when the body bags start piling up even them (MSM) will wake up and start asking the empty suit Marxist some serious questions.
Also, he seems trying very hard not to spill the beans that Obamacare is being tied to the war effort by his party, because of the cost factor involved. Dems leadership seem to be signaling no Obama care and troop increases. Pick one!
The American simply will not stand for putting our soldiers on the sacrificial altar of Obamacare
I could understand if because of the election over there being so untrustworthy to hold off on implementing a strategy.
Too bad there was none to begin with, so it's all a farce
The founding fathers put the requirement for a declaration of war in the Constitution for a reason. War is a serious and dangerous enterprise. A formal declaration forces both the legislative and executive branches of the government to seriously consider the implication of the war and to jointly commit to the action.
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.