Afghan victory 'could take 38 years' (Observer)

[Eugene]

Source: The Observer

Afghan victory 'could take 38 years'

Mark Townsend in Sangin, Afghanistan
Sunday August 5, 2007
The Observer

British troops could remain in Afghanistan for more than
the 38 years it took them to pull out of Northern Ireland.
That is the bleak assessment by Army commanders on the
ground in Helmand province.

In an interview with The Observer at HQ in the provincial
capital Lashkar Gah, Brigadier John Lorimer, commander of
UK forces in Helmand, said: 'If you look at the insurgency
then it could take maybe 10 years. Counter-narcotics, it's
30 years. If you're looking at governance and so on, it
looks a little longer. If you look at other counter-insurgency
operations over the last 100 years then it has taken time.'

His scenario is the starkest assessment yet from a senior
officer tasked with defeating the Taliban, tackling the
heroin trade and rebuilding the war-ravaged country. Last
week troops pulled out of Northern Ireland after 38 years,
the longest operation in UK military history. Afghanistan,
commanders fear, may take longer.

-snip-

Read more: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2141901,00.html

[Zensea]

1. Why not 39 years?

or 40 years, two months and 3 days?
I see where he's getting this number from (Northern Ireland) but seriously, where do these people come up with these figures?
It's not like it's science where you can really predict anything with any degree of accuracy.

[acmavm]

2. And again, they may NEVER get out if they're waiting for 'victory'. Ask

the Russians. Of course, the Russians had to fight a Taliban that we were aiding.

Sometimes things are so damn ironic it'll make your head spin.