Wednesday 24 November 2010

Violence At An All-Time High - Pentagon

From Kevin Connolly - BBC Correspondent in Washington.


Aftermath of Drone Strike in Kandahar in October 2010

In the week when Nato's political leaders talked up the prospects for an end to combat operations and spoke in terms of winding down - or even winding up - the Western presence in Afghanistan, the Pentagon assessment makes sobering reading.

It depicts an enemy which has the support of Iran and continuing access to safe havens along the Pakistani border. The insurgency emerges from the Pentagon report as resilient, adaptable and sophisticated.

The section which will make the grimmest reading for Nato's political leaders, and particularly those in Washington, deals with the alliance's desire to set a timetable for withdrawal within four years while also arguing that the war is winnable.
The report says the Taliban draws strength from a belief among the Afghan people that Nato forces will soon leave the country, clearing the way for a Taliban victory.


3 comments:

  1. Here is a small article that I found.
    http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/tajikistan/101119/tajikistan-afghanistan-instability

    A possible preview of [Endless wars without borders].
    We did it in Nam and Iraq.
    We left the people behind that worked for the U.S. military.
    The Afghans know this will also be their fate. More and more will be seeking to realign themselves.

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  2. One must assume US officials knew this report was coming before Lisbon. Not exactly the savvy PR campaign that the Pentagon and NATO have made themselves out to be.

    Now they look like even bigger liars.

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  3. They knew before Lisbon for sure, James. They also knew the latest poll figures from CNN in Afghanistan which I posted, courtesy of Reality Zone, on the RZ site yesterday.

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