NATO: Afghanistan war won't end like Vietnam

[unhappycamper]

NATO: Afghanistan war won't end like Vietnam

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Afghan army will not collapse when international troops end their combat role, in the way that South Vietnam's did in the 1970s, NATO's top officer said Thursday.

Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola said the international community intends to remain committed to Afghanistan after NATO forces hand over responsibility to the Afghan security forces in 2014.

"About 60 countries are engaged in the broader effort," Di Paola told reporters. "It is not just a bilateral or trilateral effort, as it was (in Vietnam)."

"The United Nations, the World Bank, many non-governmental organizations are all there," he said. "That is the fundamental difference."

The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan numbers more than 140,000 troops — two-thirds of them Americans. The allies hope to have trained a total of 306,000 Afghan army and police by the end of this year. They face an estimated 25,000 insurgents.




unhappycamper comment: Just who do you think is paying for all this?

[zipplewrath]

1. Won't change the reality

Vietnam faced in essence an "external" threat. To some extent it was an insurgency that was divided along a geographical region. In Afghanistan, the insurgency is basically indigenous one. We won't see a Vietnam with an invading army overwhelming an army. We will see an army becoming the insurgency as it is co-oped by the very forces we are currently fighting.

[somone]

2. What revisionist bull. Many Koreans and Australians fought and died in Vietnam:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_World_Military_Forces
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

South Korea: 50,000 -> 5,099 dead; 10,962 wounded; 4 missing
Australia: 7,672 -> 521 dead; 3,000 wounded
Thailand, Philippines: 10,450 -> 1,351 dead
New Zealand: 552 -> 37 dead; 187 wounded
Taiwan sent 29, Spain sent 30.

[Angry Dragon]

3. A number I found interesting

"They face an estimated 25,000 insurgents"

Not many months ago we were told that the number of Taliban was very small.
I thought we went there to fight Al-Quida (sp)
It seems the target changes at the whim of our government.
It would seem that we are producing more "terrorists" the longer we are there.

I know damn well if an army came here and were killing my friends, neighbors, family, I would take up arms
to defend them and myself. I would be called a "terrorist". I would think of myself as a defender of my homeland.

Time to stop this madness..........