McChrystal: Months to see results in Kandahar

[unhappycamper]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tour Section 60, the final resting place for U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery on May 13. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in beret, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, stands in the background.


McChrystal: Months to see results in Kandahar
By Matthew Lee and Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 13, 2010 16:59:18 EDT

WASHINGTON — Shortly after the president of Afghanistan walked among the graves of American military who died for his country, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan said Thursday the success or failure of a push for control of an area considered key to winning the war can’t be judged until the end of the year.

Control of the southern city of Kandahar is considered essential to victory. A Taliban stronghold since before the 2001 terrorist attacks, the city has remained in the hands of insurgents throughout the eight-year war.

In a Pentagon press conference, Gen. Stanley McChrystal described the operation as a “slow, rising tide” of security aimed at giving the Afghan government an opportunity to take control.

McChrystal said he will know the operation succeeded when the people of Kandahar swing behind the local government.

Not long before McChrystal gave his assessment, Afghan President Hamid Karzai moved slowly among the tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60 — often called “the saddest acre in America,” a resting place for military killed in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq, Vietnam, World War II and other conflicts.

[David__77]

1. The mass base of support for Karzai is very small,

It's interesting to see him walk among these graves. As with yesteryear, when Babrak Karmal or Najibullah walked among Soviet graves.