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U.S. Wants 10,000 Allied Soldiers
The United States is trying to convince its allies in NATO to provide 10,000 extra soldiers to Afghanistan as President Obama ponders an escalation in American troops. Officials tell The New York Times that countries only seem willing to provide less than half the requested amount. Obama will announce his new Afghan war policy on Tuesday. With NATO's help, the president could close the gap between the number of soldiers he'd like to send and the number that Gen. Stanley McChrystal has requested. In Britain, where the war is increasingly less possible, the government seems willing to send 500 more troops. Canada and the Netherlands have begun discussing plans to leave Afghanistan entirely.
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n--Y--maladaptedGarvagh
maladapted - - Are you arguing that most Europeans think the Afghan war can be "won"? What is "winning", for that matter?
Slamlander
In this case, 'Winning' is beating the Taliban into civilised behavior.
Yes, many European think that Afghanistan can be 'won', for various definitions of 'win'.
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n--Y--maladaptedKarenF444
Obama cannot make the case that this is a "war of necessity" when the other Western, Christian, white countries have such small commitments. Obviously, what commitments they have put in Afghanistan are only to appease US presidents and not because they think there is a real terrorist threat to their nations from Afghanistan, or if there is, that this is the way to deal with it. I don't believe for one second that Obama believes it, either. He is being a coward, appeasing the warmongering media and political class that take money from/are owned by the military industrial complex.
We're pouring hundreds of billions into these quagmires and have no way out. Afghanistan is the third poorest country on earth. Once the richest country on earth made a commitment, we could never leave. Same with Iraq; we'll never get out. Probably every one of these "deficit hawk" Senators and House members who don't want to put money into healthcare for Americans, probably every one of them was and is fine and dandy with pouring money into these foreign commitments forever and ever. Its so depressing. Our political leaders and mainstream media are adamantly NOT something to be thankful for today.
Garvagh
KarenF444 - -Indeed, why is Obama pouring another hundred billion into the Iraq rathole? He could have pulled all US troops out by now, and made deals with Syria and Iran to help ensure stability in Iraq. This would not have pleased the Israel lobby, to be sure.
ImNoPUNK
Hey Garvagh....
That's right, turn the keys to asylum over to the wack-jobs standing at the gates.
Yooooooo ,,, WTF do you know about stability.....exactly how may can's of beer have you chugged down today ?
jus1drun
i'm ready to jump on the "get the hell out bandwagon." let the europeans sink or swim. why should we take the brunt of an effort that most secures europe. we've got a lot of work to do on the home front just to recover from the recession. maybe a little american isolationism will raise a few foreign eyebrows.
Garvagh
jus1drun - - The Europeans only went into Afghanistan because of US pressure to do so. What is interesting, is why the US gives Iran no credit for Iran's efforts to keep the Taliban from returning to power in Kabul.
Germany is also considering a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Demsdisorder
Why do we need 10,000 more people watching our troops fight.
Garvagh
Demdisorder - - Most well-informed observers of the situation say that failure is more likely, the more the war effort becomes "Americanized". In part, this is due to the US identification with Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, the idiotic and murderous Iraq War, etc.
ImNoPUNK
Hey Garvagh....
There ya go...I knew your true colors would come out sooner or later...
upsidedownzebra
It's not just American troops fighting. Other nation's soldiers are dying too.
amapola101
How about other countries do not want to be part of this wasted, G-d forsaken,useless wars. We are going to have to pay them?I remember when france, and I am no fan of france, but they did not back us up in Iraq. they were right. it was a Godfrosaken,waste of sodiers,billion and the day we leave a new animal will take power. Someone we might build ourselves. Hussain was ourallie,once?Again with israel, these wars have nothing to do with israel.Hussain was gassing and masacering his own people. but he should have been elimitaded and his 2 sons, with real mossad agents, or cia agents,and Not this whole waste of billions,and everythign,and soldiers,and rebuilding them,.. we went to get Alqueda not to rebuild them, educate them, bring democracy to them,We are infidel invading their countries. but they sure take our BILLIONS and Billions.and it does not reach, the masses the poor people.Is there no shame.are we never going to say its enough, are we going to just,continue,accepting policies we do not want decisions we do not accept. Lets get jobs,industry.manufacturing,going.And give all those billions and billions to all the american families.and get them going.
Garvagh
amapola - - Jacques Chirac warned G W Bush that invading Iraq would almost certainly set off a vicious civil war, and that there would be no "democracy" that would result. The moron, acting in part on the foolish advice of his incompetent national security adviser (Condoleezza Rice), ignored Chirac. And he ignored warnings from Germany. And the moron in the White House ignored warnings from Turkey. And from Russia. So the US taxpayers are out $1 trillion and counting! Yet the greedy, foolish people who got the US into the catastrophe, want it to continue for as long as possible.
Slamlander
It doesn't change the fact that the US is now morally obligated to fix Iraq, just as NATO is morally obligated the fix Afghanistan.
In both cases, the eggs are now broken and it is up to the US to clean up the mess, regardless of the cost, the US is responsible. You guys shouldn't have allowed Bush to go into Iraq in the first place.
The rest of the world is not going to cut the US slack on its responsibilities.
nachi1
Can't blame NATO. We should put stupid McChrystal out in one of those heroic Afghan "outposts." Let him come to grips with life's realities and truths.
Garvagh
nachi1 - - The US is busy building vast fortified camps in Afghanistan, that bring to mind some of the Crusader castles in the Levant nearly 1000 years ago. This is the way to make defeat and failure more likely.
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