Has the US lost the war in Afghanistan?

[MZUBAIR]

Even the senior US general knows the war in Afghanistan is lost, so let's get out – now

When the senior US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, says that without additional troops and a new strategy the Afghan war “will likely result in failure”, we should recognise we are entering the endgame. McChrystal made his revealing remarks last month, but they failed to inject any realism into Labour’s conference, nor is it likely the Tories will do any better. It really is time that public opinion asserted itself and insisted we withdraw from this insane conflict. The run-up to a general election is the one time when the public can exert some pressure on politicians.

McChrystal’s analysis was as close as a serving general can come to saying: “We have been defeated.” Of course we have. There was never any other prospect. More German troops? They’re having a laugh, surely. Nato officials recently reported that German troops in Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan, had been so traumatised by suffering their first battlefield fatality since the Second World War that it was doubtful they had the mental strength to constitute an effective combat force.

One shudders to think what the Great Elector, Frederick the Great, Bismarck, Clausewitz and Hindenburg – not to mention the Führer – would have thought of this display of wimpishness by the Waffen Hairnets. If that is their morale level, Angela Merkel’s contemplation of sending reinforcements sounds more like a threat than a promise. One fatality: what about Britain’s 219 lives lost and many more hideously mutilated? Could one ask for a better encapsulation of relations between Britain and our Nato and EU “allies”?

It will be left, as usual, to the Americans and Brits to shovel the ordure to the last moment, constantly stabbed in the back by their politicians. McChrystal, who renewed his strictures in an address to the International Institute of Strategic Studies yesterday, frankly acknowledges the complete lack of confidence of Afghans in the corrupt Karzai government we foisted upon them. McChrystal wants 30,000-40,000 more troops: he has as much hope of reinforcements from Saudi Arabia. There is no alternative strategy, otherwise we would already have resorted to it.

The war is lost. The Taliban are returning to power. Karzai is bound for the gallows or, more likely, a heavily fortified villa in South America. The poppy trade is flourishing. The warlords and politicians are bloated with billions of pounds and dollars of Western taxpayers’ money. Instead of feeding more young British lives to the killing machine, to protect the egos of Gordon Brown and Bob Ainsworth, whose natural vocation was playing a grocer in an H G Wells adaptation, we should cut our losses and get out – now.

[MZUBAIR]

Fatalities By Country (2001 - 2010)

[MZUBAIR]

War in Afghanistan 'could be lost by summer'

The war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan will be lost by the end of the summer without dramatic changes in counter-insurgency strategy, according to a leading US military expert.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Published: 2:56PM GMT 10 Feb 2009

The Taliban's 'fighting season' ends the autumn Photo: REUTERS
The assessment of Col John Nagl, who is consulting the US government as it conducts four separate policy reviews on Afghanistan, comes amid fears that unless the insurgents' advance is halted, Afghanistan will become the new president's Vietnam.

Adm Mullen has said he expected to announce the deployment of a further 30,000 US troops soon, even though the Obama administration is waiting to evaluate the reviews.


"The commander on the ground has asked for additional forces and meeting those requirements against the overall strategy is something that I have an expectation to get directed to do," he said.

The anticipation in military circles is that the president will agree not only to the extra troops but to the adoption of the approach that worked well in Iraq, whereby US forces concentrate less seeking out and killing insurgents. Instead they followed a "clear, hold, build" strategy designed to consolidate gains and prevent captured towns falling back into enemy hands.

Col Nagl, an Iraq veteran who helped devise the successful strategy there under the aegis of Gen David Petraeus, told The Daily Telegraph that the gains made by the Taliban over the past two years need to be reversed by the end of the traditional fighting season in Afghanistan, around late September or early October, or else the Taliban will establish a durable base that would make a sustained Western military presence futile.

"Counter-insurgency campaigns have momentum. Like a football game when the crowd senses something before it happens. Right now the Taliban has that momentum," said Col Nagl, who co-authored the recently published US Government Counterinsurgency Guide.

Like other military thinkers, he believes that a change in military tactics also urgently needs to be accompanied by a "civilian surge", which will clarify the roles and goals of international agencies and governments trying to steer the impoverished country's development.

In his campaign Mr Obama committed to sending extra resources to Afghanistan and was sometimes bullish about the chances of success. But at a press conference this week he echoed his defence chiefs by downscaling expectations from ushering in a Western-style democracy to preventing the country from becoming a haven for terrorists to "act with impunity, planning attacks on the US homeland".

Col Nagl does not expect the "clear, hold, build" strategy to produce the same rapid results in Afghanistan as in Iraq. Afghanistan has never been modernised, has a weaker tribal structure that was crucial in supporting the surge in Iraq and has a booming opium trade. Militants have a safe haven across the border in Pakistan.

Like other experts and Pentagon officials, he believes the current Afghan army size of 70,000 – just a quarter of the Iraqi army – will need to double if not triple to establish itself as a convincing security force.

[stax]

In my opinion, totally lost.

[Fighter488]

How many here would have a doubt about this FACT?

Lost causes are a result of meniac leadership! NATO has its share in abundence!

Fighter

[Usama55]

yes I think? bcz the terms and conditions show this

[MZUBAIR]

I doubt that USA wants someone to be blames his defeat.....and they might have few options to cover their lose.

1) Bring Pak troops in Afgan (by pessure or may be by deals) to fight against Talibans at the place of USA and Nato force. In the end the lost would be blamed on Pakistan.

2)Bring Indian troops in Afgan to do same, which they want from Pak.....this will also put more pressure on Pak from ast n West pressure......In the end again Pak may be blamed that they didnt "Do More".

3) If they fail n option 1 or 2...... they might create probs for China, Pak and India to engage them in a war.......The war scope might get wider that approaches in Afghan...this mght raise Taliba hate agains Pak and USA may get safe exit from the region.

Is there any other solution which helps USA to getrid from this sitituation?

Taliban Control Spreads in Afghanistan

Eight years after the terror strike on the United States, which prompted an invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, there are indications that the insurgents are continuing to widen their reach inside the country. Meanwhile, some high-ranking British and American officials are expressing mounting concern about Afghanistan's fraud-tainted election process.

A respected international think tank has released a new map(click here to view map) showing, for the first time, the Taliban have a "permanent presence" in 80 percent of Afghanistan.............read detail article

Ur comments required!!!

[SilentNinja]

Originally Posted by MZUBAIR

I doubt that USA wants someone to be blames his defeat.....and they might have few options to cover their lose.

1) Bring Pak troops in Afgan (by pessure or may be by deals) to fight against Talibans at the place of USA and Nato force. In the end the lost would be blamed on Pakistan.




Ur comments required!!!

Hopefully our leadership wouldn't be too stupid enough to send our troops in Afghanistan!

[MZUBAIR]

Originally Posted by SilentNinja

Hopefully our leadership wouldn't be too stupid enough to send our troops in Afghanistan!

Its not our leaders, its the army who's sincere with the country and already announced that we cant open any more front for the next 6 to 12 months.

[xdrive]

This article is old "October 2nd, 2009" Obama has approved more troops already.

Refrain from posting old articles

[Sino-PakFriendship]

She will, like USSR.

[MZUBAIR]

Originally Posted by xdrive

This article is old "October 2nd, 2009" Obama has approved more troops already.

Refrain from posting old articles

The war is in 9th year.........nothing has happened in last 8 years and do u think sending 30 thousand troops will finish this war ?.............sending 30K troops never means that they will achieve every objective which they dereamed a decade before.

I believe the policy about the region should be changed now. USA/NATO should start backdoor dialogues.

[Sino-PakFriendship]

Western Whites' Great Game is over!

[xdrive]

Originally Posted by Sino-PakFriendship

Western Whites' Great Game is over!

Asia Asians' Great Game is over!

Originally Posted by MZUBAIR

The war is in 9th year.........nothing has happened in last 8 years and do u think sending 30 thousand troops will finish this war ?.............sending 30K troops never means that they will achieve every objective which they dereamed a decade before.

I believe the policy about the region should be changed now. USA/NATO should start backdoor dialogues.

Alot has happened in the last 8 years. Afghanistan is not the same place it was 8 years ago. People don't often see the small changes because the media usually focuses on the fighting.

Women have more freedom. Afghans now have mobile phones. Afghans can now play music. Tons of new buildings and homes and markets have been built.

On the fighting side, 30,000 troops will make a big difference. They can be used to secure towns that have already been taken while other forces focus on securing new towns.

[jarnee]

Dont know if US has won or not, but it is for sure Pakistan is definetly a single biggest losser in this war.