NATO credibility at stake in Afghanistan after Taliban surprise

[maddezmom]

LONDON (AFP) - Britain said that the credibility of NATO was at stake in Afghanistan after it was surprised by the tenacity of the Taliban resistance.

In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute in London, Defence Secretary Des Browne on Tuesday said: "We do have to accept that it's been even harder than we expected.

"The Taliban's tenacity in the face of massive losses has been a surprise, absorbing more of our effort than we predicted it would and consquently slowing progress in reconstruction."

Instead, Browne called for a recommitment of all 26 NATO members to the task of bringing peace and stability to the war-ravaged country, despite recent heavy losses.

Browne said that there were "understandable concerns" among member countries at bolstering the reconstruction and stability force in Afghanistan because of the risks posed to troops in the country.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060919/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanmilitarynatobritainbrowne

[mom cat]

1. Why is anyone surprised that people resist occupation?????

[Jester_11218]

2. PNAC Plan,

Part of the PNAC agenda was to do away with NATO. They were set up to fail in Afghanistan for this reason.

[GeorgeGist]

3. Another WTF moment ...

" We do have to accept that it's been even harder than we expected."

In other words, 'we' can accept that it's easier that 'we' expected.

[Divernan]

4. US Army claims falsely claims Afghanistan nearly totally under control

Last weekend I took a continuing legal ed class on subject of Guantanamo, taught by the retired rear admiral who was the US Navy's judge advocate general (top Navy JAG) from 2000 to 2002 (and who was in the Pentagon on 9/11). He is in frequent contact with other high level officers currently in the middle east, including Afghanistan. He pointed out that the opium production in Afganistan last year exceeded all previous production levels. In other words, Afghanistan is more out of control than before the US went in. He said our troops are spread impossibly thin. US has also lost control of Fallujah. Another participant in the seminar with a friend in Special Forces said that the soldiers do not wear their uniforms away from their base because "all sides" shoot at them, and that every one of their interpreters had been pulled from Afghan. and sent to Iraq, greatly complicating their job and making it nearly impossible to collect information. Without quoting anyone directly, people who have reason to know doubt that just because the CIA put 14 people from their secret prisons into Guantanamo, that those secret prisons are closed down/inoperative.

Then yesterday on the car radio (NPR) I hear the top US Army officer in Afghanistan bullshit the fawning interviewer that when the US went into Afghanistan, the Taliban controlled 85% of the country, and now the US has driven all the Taliban into a few small pockets of resistance. This does match with what the British are admitting about the Taliban tenacity, does it? Let's see, who do I believe?