CBS is Reporting 40K Troops On the Way

[Clay_Allison]

But he is listening . the Ambassador to Afghanistan is Karl Eikenberry . this guy commanded the troops in Afghanistan up until 2007 he is now US ambassador to same and he is the one advising against a surge .

perhaps not wanting the other guy to do better than he did.

 

[Amsel]

perhaps not wanting the other guy to do better than he did.

Both sides to the debate have valid points. If we are to continue to fight this fight then Afghanistan is the place to do it. If we do not have the heart to fight, then we need to find an exit strategy and implement it quickly.

Counterinsurgency operations take many years to complete. This war is winnable but it will take anywhere from 2-15 more years. Do we have the strength as a nation to see this through?

The surge strategy is a very good one. The Afghan people want security. The elders will not commit to helping the Coalition until some security can be maintained. The troop surge can and will increase security which will lead to a higher cooperation from the Afghan elders and warlords.

Corruption must be fought against in the new Afghan government. The major factor in the communist victory in S. Vietnam was that the people would not commit to helping the highly corrupt government in Saigon. The military must fight corruption within the new Afghan government or the Taliban will be able to continue to use corruption as a recruiting tool just like the VC did.

I think the war against Al-Quaeda, the Taliban, and muslim extremists is a just and winnable war. It will take time and strategy to win.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Both sides to the debate have valid points. If we are to continue to fight this fight then Afghanistan is the place to do it. If we do not have the heart to fight, then we need to find an exit strategy and implement it quickly.

Counterinsurgency operations take many years to complete. This war is winnable but it will take anywhere from 2-15 more years. Do we have the strength as a nation to see this through?

The surge strategy is a very good one. The Afghan people want security. The elders will not commit to helping the Coalition until some security can be maintained. The troop surge can and will increase security which will lead to a higher cooperation from the Afghan elders and warlords.

Corruption must be fought against in the new Afghan government. The major factor in the communist victory in S. Vietnam was that the people would not commit to helping the highly corrupt government in Saigon. The military must fight corruption within the new Afghan government or the Taliban will be able to continue to use corruption as a recruiting tool just like the VC did.

I think the war against Al-Quaeda, the Taliban, and muslim extremists is a just and winnable war. It will take time and strategy to win.

I agree with all of that. Either play to win or go home. This typical democrat "middle road" strategy where we do neither makes no sense.

 

[pbfoot]

I agree with all of that. Either play to win or go home. This typical democrat "middle road" strategy where we do neither makes no sense.

thats crap it was the former administration that went to Afghanistan with moral cause that did not back the mission so now we find ourselves in this position.

 

[Clay_Allison]

thats crap it was the former administration that went to Afghanistan with moral cause that did not back the mission so now we find ourselves in this position.

I could give you an hour's lecture on how many reasons I hate Donald Rummsfeld. He is by far the biggest reason for the crap we are in right now. So, yeah, both sides do stupid things with the military, often making military decisions for political reasons (always a mistake). Still, it was LBJ that ran this country and the way we look at our military off the road in vietnam, so I still think of it as democratic behavior.