U.S.: Too few Afghans to take control in Marjah

[unhappycamper]

Men place bags of fertilizer onto a wheel barrow April 25 at the Civil-Military Operations Center at Camp Hansen, Marjah, Afghanistan. Marines and NATO forces still run much of the area, despite the presence of an Afghan civilian administrator.


U.S.: Too few Afghans to take control in Marjah
By Anne Flaherty - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 6, 2010 18:57:37 EDT

WASHINGTON — Not nearly enough trained Afghans are available to take control of key Taliban strongholds like Marjah after the military has pushed out the enemy, U.S. officials told a Senate panel on Thursday.

The lack of competent local officials in southern Afghanistan could frustrate Washington’s aims in the region, and keep the U.S. on the hook — financially and militarily — for several years to come. President Obama has pledged that American forces will begin their exit next year.

“The number of those civilians ... who are trained, capable, willing to go into does not match at all demand,” David Sedney, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The assessment didn’t sit well with lawmakers, who have grown tired of committing limited U.S. resources and lives to a war with an uncertain outcome.

~snip~

Despite the problems with solidifying the Afghan government’s grip on the Marjah area, Sedney said he’s never been more optimistic about the fate of Afghanistan.



unhappycamper comment: I wonder what Sedney's been smoking. :crazy: