Mullen - Military's Recent Focus Shorts Other Areas.

[elleng]

Source: AP/NYT

GROVE CITY, Pa. (AP) -- The nation's top military officer says America's focus on Iraq and Afghanistan has hampered its ability to de-escalate crises elsewhere and solve problems in other parts of the world.

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Monday in a lecture at Grove City College that other issues require attention, including assuring stability in Russia and China, famine and genocide in Africa, the drug trade in Mexico and increased tensions between Pakistan and India.

Mullen said the war in Afghanistan was not going well and that the United States must focus on improving the Afghan government and economy, The Herald of Sharon reported. But, he said, a mere increase in troop presence would not accomplish the goals of stabilizing and handing off the region to local leaders.

When a member of the audience of about 700 asked about the possibility of returning to the use of a draft to deal with recruiting shortages, Mullen said the economic downturn has boosted enlistment and the military has met most recruiting goals.

He said, however, that economic woes will likely cause a budget crunch affecting all government departments, including the armed forces."



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/02/03/us/AP-Mullen-US-Challenges.html

[acmavm]

1. The only answer to this is 'DUH'.

It took a 'top military expert' to figure this out? If so, we ARE in some big trouble.

[KG]

2. what problem in other parts of the world is the u.s. military sposed to solve?

u.s. military might creates problems, it's never the solution.

[terisan]

3. Piracy. Although China is building a Navy , US is still the only big Naval Power

As China builds up Navy US may diminish as naval force anyway.

[Coventina]

4. Mullen: Afghanistan is no Vietnam

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. military officer cautioned Monday against comparing the Pentagon's renewed focus on Afghanistan to the Vietnam War, citing terrorism and a non-occupation strategy as "dramatic differences" between the two conflicts.

"Afghanistan is much more complex," said Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He added: "I certainly recognize — and having been in Vietnam myself — that there are those who make comparisons. I would be pretty careful about that though, for lots of reasons."

Mullen's comments came as the Pentagon prepares to deploy an additional 15,000 Army and Marine troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer in the Obama administration's military campaign to shut down the Taliban and al-Qaida.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWxiu65iLP4CvDJ7BEsBOx-u_vdwD963Q8O00

[karynnj]

5. In Vietnam, we had a "non-occuption" strrategy and we spoke of the Viet Cong as if they were

terrorists.

One of the people who raised the specter of Vietnam was Kerry at HRC's hearing. He also was cautious in bringing up the comparison - but thought it important to do so. The context though was to warn that a change in the goal was needed. It sounded like what Kerry was speaking against was the Bush goal to install a western style democracy. He though the goal should be that they no breed terrorism and have a stable government.

[acmavm]

6. Really? Seems to me that both were unwinnable. And that's the

only criteria that really counts.

<snip>

Taliban Hits NATO Supply Route
Source: New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Supplies intended for NATO forces in Afghanistan were suspended Tuesday after Taliban militants blew up a highway bridge in the Khyber Pass region, a lawless northwestern tribal area straddling the border with Afghanistan.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3720597

[Mari333]

7. exactly. nt

[Winterblues]

14. I think we did win in Vietnam

Vietnam is a Progressive Country where Free Market exists and people from all over the world are welcome. Vietnam is a rapidly expanding Market Place and certainly not an enemy of the USA. Just because we were forced to remove all of our Military resources does not mean we lost in Vietnam. I would suggest the goals we had desired, actually exist today and probably would have without our Military intervention.

[Coventina]

15. Vietnam is a nice place, but I wouldn't call it a "Progressive Country"

The government is pretty heavy-handed, jails dissenters, and limits the careers of non-Party members.

Oh yeah, and there's a lot of corruption as well.

There are worse places, for sure, but it's not what I would call a "Progressive Country" on par with Finland, or Sweden, or the Netherlands.

[acmavm]

16. You tell that to the 56,000 service people's families. You know, the one's

that weren't breathing when the came back home.

They're a client state of China. And regardless of what you might think, China is no backward third world country. They are hitting dead center on everything, economy, technology, military, manufacturing (although pretty dicey quality). They've sacrificed civil rights AND the environment to a high degree, but they're no slouches in this modern world. And they (Viet Nam), would have a high degree of technology anyway.

First they had the French influence, then the American. But they don't have to go far from their own back door to find a trade partner.

<snip>

China-Vietnam trade to surpass 5 billion dollars

September 01, 2004

The two-way trade of China and Vietnam will exceed 5 billion US dollars this year, local newspaper Youth on Wednesday quoted Hu Chusheng, director of the China Foreign Trade Center, as saying in Hanoi.

The forecast is based on the increasing bilateral trade turnover between the two countries, which stood at more than 3 billion dollars in the half of this year, said the director, who has paid a working visit to Vietnam.

The two-way trade of China and Vietnam will climb further due to the continued implementation of the Early Harvest Program (EHP), part of an agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between China and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

<snip>
China now ranks the first among exporters of goods to Vietnam and the third among importers of the country. It mainly exports petroleum products, machinery, medicines and materials for agricultural and apparel production to Vietnam, and imports crude oil, rubber, fruits, vegetables, seafood and materials for medicine production from the country.

The bilateral trade turnover, which reached 4.6 billion US dollars in 2003, has been targeted at 10 billion dollars in 2010.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200409/01/eng20040901_155594.html

<snip>
China-Vietnam trade hits $16.6 bln in first 10 months
+ - 21:46, December 11, 2008

Bilateral trade between China and Vietnam hit 16.6 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months this year, surpassing the figure for the whole of 2007, said Wang Chao, Assistant Minister of Chinese Ministry of Commerce here on Thursday.

With this momentum, bilateral trade is likely to exceed the target of 25 billion U.S. dollars for 2010 ahead of time, said Wang at the China Engineering and Technology Expo that opened in Hanoi on Thursday.

Meanwhile, bilateral investment cooperation is expanding, said Wang. In the first three quarters this year, the newly-added investment of Chinese companies in Vietnam reached 140 million U.S.dollars, which also exceeded the figure for last year.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6551948.html
________________________________________________________________
WE LOST, AND WE LOST BADLY. AND IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING. NOTHING BUT SOME MEN'S EGOS.

[GodlessBiker]

8. So, if we couldn't win the simple one, we're going to win the "more complex" one?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. Well, they are spelled differently. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

12. Vietnam was largely a trackless jungle.

Afghanistan is a trackless desert.

The Chinese, French and Japanese were unable to permanently suppress Vietnamese nationalist movements. The Indians, British, and Russians were unable to conquer Afghanistan.

See? There are lots of differences.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. And the Vietnamese were godless heathens while the Afghans clearly are Satan worshipers. nt

[LynnTheDem]

10. Yet.

[bemildred]

11. I guess the idea must be gaining traction, if this guy needs to try to fend it off.

Or maybe it's the idea of failure that he is trying to fend off.