Friday, 07 October 2011
U.S. military advisors conduct first aid lessons with Afghan policemen in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan. A former U.S. army official has said the Western alliance is only half way near reaching its war goals in Afghanistan. (Photo by Reuters)
The U.S. began the war in Afghanistan with a “frighteningly simplistic” view of the country and even 10 years later lacks knowledge that could help bring the conflict to a successful end, a former top commander said Thursday.
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. and its NATO allies are only “a little better than” 50 percent of the way to reaching their war goals.
Of the remaining tasks to be accomplished, he said the most difficult may be to create a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans can believe in and that can serve as a counterweight to the Taliban.
We didn’t know enough and we still don't know enough 
I spent a year in the city of Kabul during the Taliban regime and they made life difficult as they banned everything. We were forced to flee the country and live in Pakistan
Since the Americans and their allies came to Afghanistan, our security has deteriorated and they have also been involved in the killings of innocent Afghan civilians
Time is running out to leave Afghanistan in an acceptable shape that would justify the time, money, and lives spent in expanding the mission from counter-terrorism to state building
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. and its NATO allies are only “a little better than” 50 percent of the way to reaching their war goals.
Of the remaining tasks to be accomplished, he said the most difficult may be to create a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans can believe in and that can serve as a counterweight to the Taliban.
We didn’t know enough and we still don't know enough Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal
McChrystal, who commanded coalition forces in 2009-10 and was forced to resign in a flap over a magazine article, said the U.S. entered Afghanistan in October 2001 with too little knowledge of Afghan culture.
“We didn’t know enough and we still don't know enough," AFP reported him as saying. “Most of us - me included - had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years.”
U.S. forces did not know the country’s languages and did not make “an effective effort” to learn them, he said.
“We didn’t know enough and we still don't know enough," AFP reported him as saying. “Most of us - me included - had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years.”
U.S. forces did not know the country’s languages and did not make “an effective effort” to learn them, he said.
Iraq
McChrystal also said that the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq less than two years after entering Afghanistan made the Afghan effort more difficult.
“I think they were made more difficult, clearly,” he said because the Iraq invasion “changed the Muslim world’s view of America’s effort. When we went after the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, there was a certain understanding that we had the ability and the right to defend ourselves and the fact that al-Qaeda had been harbored by the Taliban was legitimate. I think when we made the decision to go into Iraq that was less legitimate” in the eyes of much of the Muslim world.
Iraq also diverted some military resources that could have been put to good use in Afghanistan, he said.
“I think they were made more difficult, clearly,” he said because the Iraq invasion “changed the Muslim world’s view of America’s effort. When we went after the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, there was a certain understanding that we had the ability and the right to defend ourselves and the fact that al-Qaeda had been harbored by the Taliban was legitimate. I think when we made the decision to go into Iraq that was less legitimate” in the eyes of much of the Muslim world.
Iraq also diverted some military resources that could have been put to good use in Afghanistan, he said.
Afghanistan anniversary
I spent a year in the city of Kabul during the Taliban regime and they made life difficult as they banned everything. We were forced to flee the country and live in Pakistan Abdul Saboor, a 30-year-old cook in Kabul
Afghanistan marked 10 years since the start of the U.S.-led war against the Taliban Friday, with security tight after a string of bold insurgent attacks that have diminished hopes for an enduring peace.
The anniversary will be marked in quiet fashion, with little to commemorate the long years of conflict that have cost thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
On the frontlines, it is likely to be business as usual for the 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan, including 100,000 from the United States, as they continue to battle the Taliban-led insurgency.
For many Afghans, the anniversary will be a time for reflection on what the war has meant for their country and the implications of the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
“I spent a year in the city of Kabul during the Taliban regime and they made life difficult as they banned everything. We were forced to flee the country and live in Pakistan,” said Abdul Saboor, a 30-year-old cook in Kabul.
“I was very pleased when finally the dark era of the Taliban ended in our country.”
But the anniversary will also heighten discontent over the long conflict that has left Afghanistan with a corrupt government, a widely criticized Western troop presence and only dim prospects for peace.
The anniversary will be marked in quiet fashion, with little to commemorate the long years of conflict that have cost thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
On the frontlines, it is likely to be business as usual for the 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan, including 100,000 from the United States, as they continue to battle the Taliban-led insurgency.
For many Afghans, the anniversary will be a time for reflection on what the war has meant for their country and the implications of the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
“I spent a year in the city of Kabul during the Taliban regime and they made life difficult as they banned everything. We were forced to flee the country and live in Pakistan,” said Abdul Saboor, a 30-year-old cook in Kabul.
“I was very pleased when finally the dark era of the Taliban ended in our country.”
But the anniversary will also heighten discontent over the long conflict that has left Afghanistan with a corrupt government, a widely criticized Western troop presence and only dim prospects for peace.
Since the Americans and their allies came to Afghanistan, our security has deteriorated and they have also been involved in the killings of innocent Afghan civilians Street vendor Khan Agha
Street vendor Khan Agha, 30, highlighted public anger over civilian casualties and supported calls for foreign troops to leave.
“Since the Americans and their allies came to Afghanistan, our security has deteriorated and they have also been involved in the killings of innocent Afghan civilians,” he said.
Security is being stepped up in the capital after a string of major attacks including the assassination of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani, which has thrown government strategy for talking peace with the Taliban into turmoil.
“There will be more security, more checks. Police will be on high alert,” a senior Afghan government official told AFP.
“There will be some preparations like more security and more checks.”
“Since the Americans and their allies came to Afghanistan, our security has deteriorated and they have also been involved in the killings of innocent Afghan civilians,” he said.
Security is being stepped up in the capital after a string of major attacks including the assassination of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani, which has thrown government strategy for talking peace with the Taliban into turmoil.
“There will be more security, more checks. Police will be on high alert,” a senior Afghan government official told AFP.
“There will be some preparations like more security and more checks.”
Afghans call for troops to go
Time is running out to leave Afghanistan in an acceptable shape that would justify the time, money, and lives spent in expanding the mission from counter-terrorism to state building erry Pattar, senior consultant at defense intelligence group IHS Jane’s
Around 200 Afghans called for the withdrawal of foreign troops and shouted anti-American slogans at a protest in Kabul on the eve of the anniversary.
They shouted “Death to America and its Afghan puppets” and torched an American flag at the end of their march through the city centre, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The war was launched to oust the Taliban for harboring Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who plotted the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, and destroy Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.
On October 7, 2001, just under a month after the 9/11 strikes, American planes dropped dozens of cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs on strategic targets in Kabul and other Afghan cities.
That was followed by a ground campaign which defeated the Taliban within weeks. Insurgents lay dormant in Afghan and Pakistani hideouts for the next few years, severely depleted by the invasion.
U.S. attention then turned to the war in Iraq, but violence flared back up again around 2007 and 2008, prompting a surge in the number of troops sent to fight the Taliban.
As those troops begin to withdraw ahead of 2014, the Taliban have increasingly focused on launching targeted attacks against foreign forces as well as the Afghan military and authorities.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) argues this shows it is winning the fight on Afghanistan's battlefields.
Experts argue that the 10th anniversary finds Afghanistan at a key turning point.
“Time is running out to leave Afghanistan in an acceptable shape that would justify the time, money, and lives spent in expanding the mission from counter-terrorism to state building,” said Terry Pattar, senior consultant at defense intelligence group IHS Jane’s.
Patar said there were “major doubts” over whether the Afghan government could enforce stability after foreign troops leave and predicted an eventual pact with the insurgents.
“There will have to be some form of rapprochement with elements of the Taliban if Afghanistan is not going to descend back into civil war.”
They shouted “Death to America and its Afghan puppets” and torched an American flag at the end of their march through the city centre, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The war was launched to oust the Taliban for harboring Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who plotted the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, and destroy Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.
On October 7, 2001, just under a month after the 9/11 strikes, American planes dropped dozens of cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs on strategic targets in Kabul and other Afghan cities.
That was followed by a ground campaign which defeated the Taliban within weeks. Insurgents lay dormant in Afghan and Pakistani hideouts for the next few years, severely depleted by the invasion.
U.S. attention then turned to the war in Iraq, but violence flared back up again around 2007 and 2008, prompting a surge in the number of troops sent to fight the Taliban.
As those troops begin to withdraw ahead of 2014, the Taliban have increasingly focused on launching targeted attacks against foreign forces as well as the Afghan military and authorities.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) argues this shows it is winning the fight on Afghanistan's battlefields.
Experts argue that the 10th anniversary finds Afghanistan at a key turning point.
“Time is running out to leave Afghanistan in an acceptable shape that would justify the time, money, and lives spent in expanding the mission from counter-terrorism to state building,” said Terry Pattar, senior consultant at defense intelligence group IHS Jane’s.
Patar said there were “major doubts” over whether the Afghan government could enforce stability after foreign troops leave and predicted an eventual pact with the insurgents.
“There will have to be some form of rapprochement with elements of the Taliban if Afghanistan is not going to descend back into civil war.”
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