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| Afghanistan |
| Petraeus Says Karzai Comments Hurt War Effort - report |
| 2010-11-17 |
[Asharq al-Aswat] The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has warned Afghan officials that President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai's latest public criticism of U.S. strategy seriously undermines the war effort, The Washington Post reported on Monday. U.S. General David Petraeus on Sunday expressed "astonishment and disappointment" with Karzai's call to "reduce military operations" and end U.S. Special Operations raids in southern Afghanistan, the newspaper reported, citing Afghan and U.S. officials. In a meeting with the official leading Afghanistan transition planning, Petraeus made what officials described as "hypothetical" references to an inability to continue U.S. operations in the face of Karzai's remarks, the Post said. Petraeus's comments reflected his desire to ensure that the Afghans understood the seriousness of the situation, a senior NATO military official told the newspaper. Karzai, said in a interview published on Sunday, that he wants the U.S. military to reduce its visibility and the intensity of its operations in Afghanistan and end the use of night raids. Such raids incite Afghans to join the insurgency, Karzai told The Washington Post. "The time has come to reduce military operations," Karzai said. "The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan ... to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life." A foreign diplomat in Kabul, speaking . said Karzai's comments at this stage undermine Petraeus's endeavors, the Post reported. "Not only his personally, but the international community," the diplomat was quoted as saying. A bigwig told the newspaper that it was "categorically false" to interpret Karzai's remarks as a "vote of no-confidence in Gen. Petraeus." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Perhaps you should concentrate your efforts on the warfight and leave the politics to the politicians 1. The politicians haven't done their job. 2. Petraeus is the closest thing to a warlord that the Afghans will recognize. Considering he's playing to that audience, it might be appropriate. Just my penny farthings worth. Yeah. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-11-17 20:41 |
| #4 If it weren't for Petraeus, we'd have declared defeat and pulled out by now, I suspect. Or worse - we'd stay but hamstring the troops with ROEs disastrous to their safety and success. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-11-17 12:40 |
| #3 "Astonished and disappointed" were you? I'll bet General Stan McChrystal was not.... "astonished." Pardon me General, but I'm getting a little weary of the phrase...."Petraeus says." Perhaps you should concentrate your efforts on the warfight and leave the politics to the politicians. Just my penny farthings worth. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-11-17 10:17 |
| #2 Karzai is no dummy. He can smell that the US is itching to bug out, leaving him holding the bag. Just like Nguyen Van Thieu in Vietnam. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-11-17 08:45 |
| #1 Just have a predator target his heroin dealing brother... |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2010-11-17 00:34 |