Gen. Petraeus Exclusive Interview: Progress in Afghanistan Like Watching 'Paint Dry'

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Source: ABC News

Exclusive: Petraeus Concedes War in Afghanistan Could Take Another 10 Years

Upon the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, ABC News' Martha Raddatz interviewed four-star Gen. David Petraeus, who was appointed to replace former Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan in June.

In an exclusive interview, Petraeus explained his decision to speak out against a Florida preacher's plan to burn Korans, and conceded that a successful counterinsurgency campaign could take up to 10 more years, but said he intended to stick to the 2011 drawdown date.

Petraeus, who was appointed commander of the Multi-National Force--Iraq in 2006, is seen as the one who turned the tide of violence in Iraq and who can do the same in Afghanistan.

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Taking Control in Afghanistan

Petraeus is just now taking command of the Afghanistan War, but after almost nine years of the war, the American public appears to be getting war weary. However, he conceded, it could take just as long to implement a successful counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

When asked where Afghanistan was in terms of the "COIN clock", and if success could take nine to 10 more years, Petraeus replied, "Yeah, again, in some respects, I'd say obviously what took place up until this point has been of enormous importance. The sacrifices made have been -- very -- very important to this overall effort.

"But it is just at this point that we feel that we do have the organizations that we learned in Iraq and from history are necessary for the conduct of this kind of campaign. We got the leaders in place, the big ideas and so forth with our Afghan partners. And now very much the resources. Although still growing even there, in terms of the required number of Afghan national security forces," he told ABC News.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Afghanistan/gen-david-petraeus-discusses-war-afghanistan-koran-burning/story?id=11603031

[Schema Thing]

1. "red paint, of course", he added.

[thereismore]

2. The same paint that's been drying there for a 1000 years will dry there for another 1000. nt