US 'not winning in Afghanistan'

[Beskar]

US 'not winning in Afghanistan'

Sunday, 8 March 2009

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'not winning in Afghanistan'

President Obama is reviewing US strategy on Afghanistan
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US President Barack Obama has said the US is not winning in Afghanistan, saying it is more complex than Iraq.
In an interview with the New York Times, he said reaching out to the Taleban could be an option, in the same way outreach had worked in Iraq.

However, the "fierce independence among tribes" in Afghanistan presented different challenges, he said.

A month into his presidency, Mr Obama authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan.

Asked if the US was winning in Afghanistan, Mr Obama replied: "No."

Mr Obama and his advisors are reviewing the US strategy on Afghanistan, and have looked at what has worked in Iraq.

"There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region," he said on board Air Force One.

Mr Obama, referring to the US policy in Iraq, said: "If you talk to General [David] Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda in Iraq."

However, Afghanistan could be a different situation.

"The situation in Afghanistan is, if anything, more complex," he told the newspaper.

"You have a less governed region, a history of fierce independence among tribes.

"Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge."
-Obama

Terror suspects

He also discussed what the US would do if a terror suspect appeared in a country without an extradition arrangement with the US.

"There could be situations - and I emphasise 'could be' because we haven't made a determination yet - where, let's say that we have a well-known al-Qaeda operative that doesn't surface very often, appears in a third country with whom we don't have an extradition relationship or would not be willing to prosecute, but we think is a very dangerous person," he said.

"I think we still have to think about how do we deal with that kind of scenario," he added.

 

[ANDUBYLL]

I think , Obama will try to cut and run in Afghanistan. This might be a softening up of the American people before a Swat like deal.

Obama considers reaching out to Taliban | smh.com.au

Obama considers reaching out to Taliban

* March 9, 2009

US President Barack Obama said in an interview released on Saturday that the United States is not winning the war in Afghanistan and hinted at possible talks with moderate elements of the Taliban.

Highlighting the success of the US strategy of bringing some Sunni Iraqi insurgents to the negotiating table and away from Al-Qaeda, Obama told The New York Times that "there may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region."

The strategy in Iraq had been deployed by General David Petraeus, then commander of US forces in the country.

"If you talk to General Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of Al Qaeda in Iraq," Obama said in the interview published on the Times website.

Asked if the United States was winning the war in Afghanistan, which he has called the "central front in the war on terror," Obama simply replied: "No."

"You've seen conditions deteriorate over the last couple of years. The Taliban is bolder than it was. I think in the southern regions of the country, you're seeing them attack in ways that we have not seen previously," he said.

"The national government still has not gained the confidence of the Afghan people."

Shortly after taking office in January, Obama launched a review of US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan that is set to be delivered before he heads to Europe on March 31 for a round of international meetings.

In his first major decision as commander-in-chief, he ordered the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, saying they were needed to stabilise a deteriorating security situation.

 

[Beskar]

Already posted.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/war-terror/22998-us-not-winning-afghanistan.html

 

[Rehmat]

Some idiots don't want to learn lessons from the history. Afghanistan has never been occupied by foreigners for a long period of time. Greeks, British, Russian - all tried before the Americans the bomb on their foot.