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| Afghanistan |
| US troops to retreat from Taliban strongholds |
| 2009-09-23 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] A top US military officer in Afghanistan has ordered his commanders to pull troops out of areas where NATO fought bloody battles with the Taliban over the past months. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal said the move was because of the realization that the areas were not going to be brought under government control anytime soon, CBS News reported on Tuesday. The Taliban strongholds reportedly include regions bordering Pakistan where insurgency has skyrocketed over the past months. The occupation forces have recently suffered heavy losses in southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban has stepped up attacks against coalition troops with roadside bombs and ambushes. Senior Afghan officials have expressed concern over the move, saying any withdrawal from Taliban-held territories would only make the Kabul government appear even more powerless in the eyes of insurgents. The developments come after a London-based policy research group said this week that the Taliban had a significant presence in almost every corner of Afghanistan, eight years after their overthrow by US-led forces. A security map by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) showed a deepening security crisis with substantial Taliban activity in at least 97 percent of the war-ravaged country. The withdrawal comes after US-led forces in Afghanistan lost 77 troops in August, setting a new record. At least 334 foreign troops have been killed in the country in 2009, according to icasualties.org, which tracks coalition casualties. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 I just got done reading GEN McChrystals' assessment, as posted on the Washington Post website. It is well-written. But - it has one big flaw. It assumes that there is some possibility of achieving that one out of his four key "pillars" of a successful outcome that refers to creating a competent and influential GIRoA (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), that exerts control over the full national territory. This is pipe dream. There is zero possibility of extending any sort of national identity into the 17th mountain valley back from the nearest road, in some forsaken quarter of Afghanistan. I would be surprised if the inhabitants of that valley even had a vocabulary word for "country" or "nation". It is an alien concept. Every mountain valley is its own little island of humanity - largely oblivious to what is going on in Kabul - much less in other parts of the world. Thus - this crucial "pillar" is unattainable - and we need to get out of that country - period. 'No more American blood and treasure thrown down that rat hole |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2009-09-23 23:25 |
| #13 WAFF > US: PAKISTAN GOING AFTER THE WRONG TERRORISTS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-23 22:13 |
| #12 WAFF > WSJ:OBAMA AND THE POLITICS OF CONCESSION/IRAN AND RUSSIA PUT OBAMA TO THE TEST IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, AND HE BLINKED TWICE. ION SAME > AHMADINEJAD PERSONALLY RECRUITED SANCTIONS BUSTER DURING NEW YORK TRIP, COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW [Pro-Iran, anti-US/UNSC]. * HINDUSTAN TIMES > INDIA: US NEEDS TO CHANGE ITS LIFESTYLE ["quality of life"] TO SAVE THE PLANET. USA = OBAMA Admin has now begun to enter the INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTIST ARENA??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-23 22:12 |
| #11 Mccrystal isnt even saying pull back into the cities. Its still a plan to aggressively go after SELECT rural areas. dead tree Wapo included a map, mirabili dictu. ISAF will concentrate on Jalalabad area, with high population density, rural areas accessible to the city, and, what the report does not say, key location on route from Kabul to Khyber. They will push up Konar River valley from there in to south Nurestan. They will NOT bother trying to protect N nurestan, Will this leave some folks to the tender mercies of the taliban - yes BUT A. Not many folks in those villages anyways B. They werent really being protected anyways When we did the surge, we focused on one area at a time, actually working based on geography. That seems to be what McCrystal wants to do. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2009-09-23 13:14 |
| #10 Make the abandoned areas Free Fire Zones. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-09-23 12:01 |
| #9 The military is crystal clear on one thing: if they are not given the support from Washington, they are not going to stick their necks out. The Democrats have made it clear that they think of the military as ignorant and expendable, that they know nothing of foreign or military policy, and that their indecisiveness and waffling will get military personnel killed. I heartily agree with McChrystal on this. Pull back to the cities and go into defensive mode. The Taliban cannot break our defenses, nor even mount a substantial offense in which they don't get slaughtered. Let the Pak army drive most of them into Afghanistan, and they are basically neutered. If the Pushtun love them so much, let them live with them. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-09-23 11:52 |
| #8 We are in retreat. Defeat has begun. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-09-23 11:00 |
| #7 But they believe it, crosspatch, or believe their readers will. That is an important datum, for which we can once again thank President Obama. The CBS News/Washington Post report has its own slant. Go read the whole thing, then draw your own conclusions: Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top military officer in Afghanistan, has told his commanders to pull forces out of sparsely populated areas where U.S. troops have fought bloody battles with the Taliban for several years and focus them on protecting major Afghan population centers. But the changes, which amount to a retreat from some areas, have already begun to draw resistance from senior Afghan officials who worry that any pullback from Taliban-held territory will make the weak Afghan government appear even more powerless in the eyes of its people. Senior U.S. officials said the moves were driven by the realization that some remote regions of Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountains that range through the northeast, were not going to be brought under government control anytime soon. "Personally, I think I am being realistic about this," said Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan. "I have more combat power than my predecessors did, but I won't be as spread out. . . . This is all about freeing up some forces so I can get them out more among the people." The changes are in line with McChrystal's confidential assessment of the war, which urges U.S. and NATO forces to "initially focus on critical high-population areas that are contested or controlled by insurgents." |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-09-23 06:40 |
| #6 That is an Iranian news site. I don't believe the article is true. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2009-09-23 04:38 |
| #5 ION SINODEFENSE FORUM > IS CHINA PLANNING A MILITARY STRIKE BEYOND ITS BORDERS/ WHY EUROPE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE VIOLENCE IN URUMQI [ Uighurs = Xinjiang]. Instigators of the violence in Xinjiang are allegedly foreigners from outside of China and intentionally brought into Xinjiang??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-23 03:22 |
| #4 SINO-DEFENCE FORUM > US COMMANDER: MORE TROOPS OR AFGHANISTAN WILL BE LOST WITHIN A YEAR. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-23 02:54 |
| #3 URBAN AREAS + nearby, vee IRAQ??? More setting the stage for the Islamist HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI to make His Appearance and wage [future]"DECISIVE/STRATEGIC BATTLE" agz the Amer Infidel elite units. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-23 02:52 |
| #2 "Personally, I think we should pull out of Afghanistan completely - with a warning that we will obliterate any grid squares that we ever suspect are projecting any sort of mischief outside of Afghanistan." Nobody will believe us. I wouldn't. We'd have to prove it by doing it. And we'd never do it. |
| Posted by: Threresh Bourbon1154 2009-09-23 00:43 |
| #1 Well, every Afghan in the abandoned areas who ever helped the ISAF forces will now be toast - and no Afghan anywhere will ever again help ISAF - because to do so is to invite a death sentence, once ISAF forces run away. Other than that, this is probably a good move...... Personally, I think we should pull out of Afghanistan completely - with a warning that we will obliterate any grid squares that we ever suspect are projecting any sort of mischief outside of Afghanistan. On the way out, hang a sign on the exterior door "Welcome to the 7th century - hell on earth." |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2009-09-23 00:27 |