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Afghanistan
Americans won't back long Afghan war: Gates
2009-07-20
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said U.S.-led forces must gain ground against insurgents in Afghanistan by next summer to avoid a public perception the war is unwinnable, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. While noting that the Taliban militants would not be defeated within a year, Gates told the newspaper it was critical that the U.S. military and its allies show they were making progress in the Asian nation. "After the Iraq (war) experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway," Gates said in an interview. "The troops are tired. The American people are pretty tired," he said.

The U.S. public's souring attitude toward the war in Iraq, where more than 4,300 U.S. troops have been killed since 2003, cut popular support for former President George W. Bush and is cited by some as a factor for his party's huge losses in the 2008 election.
The vicious behaviour of the press had, of course, nothing to do with it, according to the same some.
The Obama administration has shifted its strategy to make the battle in Afghanistan a higher priority. Washington is sending 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan in a bid to counter the Taliban, who now control a large swath of territory, and it has named a new commander to lead the NATO-backed effort.
Posted by:Fred

#8  I think Gates is right. Cripes, I think we should leave Afghanistan tomorrow. It is a hell-hole and is about 1,000 years behind Iraq culturally. There is no way it is going to develop into anything approaching a modern democratic country in my lifetime. Why spend money and lives trying to convert this tribal cesspool into anything. If terror comes from there, turn the place into an ashtray.
Posted by: remoteman   2009-07-20 22:47  

#7  BO, most likely, will be voted out in 2012, unless ACORN begins ramping up its activity by resurrecting the dead and registering people under aliases and donks in Congress give it a pass as they are wont to do.
Posted by: JohnQC   2009-07-20 15:44  

#6  Realpolitik suggests there is little reason to stay: no oil - let's go. Methinks the Mexican Army should arrive there for the long term to protect the opium production...that would give them a nice Rockefeller-style vertical monopoly...Los Zetas could put Al Queda in its place muy pronto!
Posted by: borgboy   2009-07-20 14:14  

#5  The One laying more groundwork for his cowardly actions through his puppet, our supposed "Defense" Secretary. I don't see anyone complaining about the Iraq victory. I do see a bunch of folks holding their breath and hoping that AQ ends up having a big resurgence so they'll have something to point at and call failure, though.
Posted by: gorb   2009-07-20 10:11  

#4  That's because the ruling class and media want you to forget this as soon as possible. It's well down the memory hole now.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-07-20 09:34  

#3  How many of the American people really remember we have troops in Bosnia? Or is it Kosovo?

Germany since 1944, Japan since 1945, and Korea since 1950 - the war never ended there, ya know.

But the press doesn't fret about those troops.

Are they the Fourth Estate or the Fifth Column? I forget.
Posted by: Bobby   2009-07-20 07:34  

#2  No worries! Barry has absolutely no plan for the "long fight." His 2012 run will be based upon his pull-out.
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-07-20 07:26  

#1  Why should people "back" a long war with no tangible benefits (the chance of Afghanistan, or any other Muslim country, becoming a democracy [or a non-enemy of the West] are slightly less than zilch)?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-07-20 03:52  

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