Gen. Stanley McChrystal Says Tide Is Turning in Afghanistan

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

First Elements of Surge Has Blunted Taliban Momentum

Gen. Stanley McChrystal believes the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan has already blunted the Taliban's momentum and the tide is turning against the Taliban.

In an exclusive interview with ABC's "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said he believes he is making good on his promise of a "quantum shift" on the battlefield.

"I believe we're doing that now. I believe that we have changed the way we operate in Afghanistan. We changed some of our structures and I believe that we are on the way to convincing the Afghan people that we are here to protect them," the general told Sawyer.

"We've been at this for about seven months now and I believe we've made progress. It's not a completed mission yet," he said.

McChrystal cited as evidence a meeting he recently held in a river valley in Helmand province, an area where the Taliban has been strong and was one of the first targets of the American surge.

"When I sit in an area that the Taliban controlled only seven months ago and now you meet with a shura of elders and they describe with considerable optimism the future, you sense the tide is turning," he said.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Afghanistan/afghanistan-general-stanley-mcchrystal-tells-diane-sawyer-surge/story?id=9525700

[Romulox]

1. Unrec. nt

[jpak]

25. rec

:evilgrin:

[StarfarerBill]

2. An American general, cheerleading a losing American war; now, that *is* news...

[AzDar]

3. Victory is surely just around the corner, isn't it... Gen. McChrystal?

Say "hi" to your mentor Dickey "Better Things To Do" Cheney, for me... hmmm?


:eyes:

[niyad]

4. sure it is stanley.

[pjt7]

6. Insult to America that Diane Sawyer is ABC lead

news person.

[No Elephants]

18. What? Just bc she was a loyal NIxonite, even after he had to resign?

Jeez, cut her some slack, willya?

She's blonde, for crap's sake.

[gratuitous]

5. I heard the same thing late in 1967

Boy, the commies were on the run then, boy! All done but a little mopping up. Everything all but tied up in a neat package with a pretty bow. Then came the Tet holiday, and even though the North Vietnamese lost the battle, it showed that the people in country didn't know a fucking thing about what was going on, but they had sold the Johnson administration and a majority of congress critters on the idea that they did.

Boy, that black wall in Washington is sure long. Lots and lots of names on it. In a big trench. The next memorial should be modeled on a cave-pocked mountainous landscape, methinks.

[billyoc]

7. Just have to take care of a few dead-enders in their last throes.

Shouldn't be more than 15-20 more years.

[DebbieCDC]

8. Channeling Westmoreland again huh Stan?

The past is prologue

[hayu_lol]

9. Someone should tap this kook on the shoulder...

that there are NO tides that affect Afghanistan.

Been hearing about these magic tides for over 8 years now.

[unkachuck]

12. yep....n/t

[damntexdem]

10. Well, we can certainly trust a general who thinks that a tide is turning in a land-locked nation.

;-)

[bemildred]

11. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Just a couple more Friedman units, that's all we need!

[IndianaGreen]

13. It is a rip tide, General McCrazy

It will take you far from shore until you drown after becoming exhausted.

[sofa king]

14. Wait a minute. The "surge" troops aren't even deployed yet!

Maybe we should announce that we're sending over a million troops, declare victory before any of them get there either, and then send the rest home.

[JonHoch3]

15. Skeptical

They trot out this "victory is just around the corner" mumbo-jumbo every 6 months.

[Lionel Mandrake]

16. Generals are like that.

They tend to believe their own bullshit.

[classysassy]

17. Attn,McChrystal

if you'll check some of the statements made by some of the Russians generals,I believe they said the same thing before packing it in and going back to Russia.Stop lying to yourself and the rest of America,before more of the fine men and women of our military are maimed and killed.

[No Elephants]

19. McChrystal sees the light at the end of the tunnel?

[panzerfaust]

24. Yep. A train.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

20. The Afghani's hold their friends close and their enemies closer...

Over and over again they fail to comprehend that fact at our peril.

[Blandocyte]

21. The tide?

Charlie don't surf.

[Mari333]

22. lying sack of shite. nt

[panzerfaust]

23. Yes - perhaps as on Boxing Day, 2004

[clixtox]

26. More fabulous news about our newest, "COALITION OF THE BILLING"! N/T

[Johnny Harpo]

27. Maybe They Don't Need As Many New Troops As They Thought They Did

n/t