McChrystal sees victory ahead in Afghanistan [View All]

[unhappycamper]

McChrystal sees victory ahead in Afghanistan
By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, January 2, 2010

U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan “are not winning yet, but we are going to win,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Friday.

But the general said it was not possible to say how long it will take to achieve victory, which he defined as a situation where “the insurgency is not an existential threat to the government or the people” of Afghanistan. He added that protecting civilians remains the goal of the allied counterinsurgency strategy.

“There’s no way to put an exact timeline on it, because as I’ve said, the Afghan people will decide (what victory is),” McChrystal said, speaking by phone from Kabul. “(But) I believe that over the next year to 18 months that we’re going to be able to decisively change the perception of momentum and gains by the insurgents.”

President Barack Obama announced Dec. 1 that he was sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in an effort to reverse gains made by Taliban insurgents, and with the goal of training Afghan security forces and turning over to them the lead in the counterinsurgency fight. There were 68,000 U.S. troops already in the country. Obama said he also plans to start withdrawing at least some U.S. combat forces in July 2011.

The centerpiece of the strategy, outlined by McChrystal when he took command of the 44-nation coalition last summer, is to focus on protecting significant population centers. McChrystal said Friday that these areas would include not only significant cities, but also prime agricultural centers that “have a significant percentage of the population.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66983



unhappycamper comment: I think the Afghani people have told invaders over the centuries what they want. "Get out."