Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general (Guardian)

[rodeodance]

http://rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fafghanistan%2Fstory%2F0%2C%2C1826479%2C00.html

Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general

· Nato commander's view in stark contrast to ministers'
· Forces short of equipment and 'running out of time'

Richard Norton-Taylor
Saturday July 22, 2006
The Guardian

The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan yesterday described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption.

The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that western forces there were short of equipment and were "running out of time" if they were going to meet the expectations of the Afghan people.

The assumption within Nato countries had been that the environment in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban in 2002 would be benign, Gen Richards said. "That is clearly not the case," he said yesterday. He referred to disputes between tribes crossing the border with Pakistan, and divisions between religious and secular factions cynically manipulated by "anarcho-warlords".

[Cooley Hurd]

1. K&R - we're losing the war in Afghanistan...

Unbelievable, isn't it?:grr:

[Phrogman]

2. And they want to start a bigger one,

Maybe they figure they ought to be able to win 1 out of 3.

[teryang]

3. How ironic, NATO inherits Soviet quagmire.

How could the Europeans be so dumb?

[cliss]

4. I've been following stories coming out of Afghanistan.

I think this country is going to blow, I really do. Now that's really saying something because that whole area is like a tinder box. Look at Israel, Lebanon & Syria. And Iraq....

But my personal feeling is that Afghanistan is so close, it's been pushed to the brink so many times that it's miraculous that they've managed to settle the population down.

It's either going to be
a) Afghanistan or
b) Pakistan

That's my hunch.

[bemildred]

5. Don't forget our good friends in Saudi Arabia. nt