The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict “will likely result in failure,” according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal says emphatically: “Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.”
His assessment was sent to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30 and is now being reviewed by President Obama and his national security team.
McChrystal concludes the document’s five-page Commander’s Summary on a note of muted optimism: “While the situation is serious, success is still achievable.”
I wonder if our NATO partners will step up to the plate?
To elaborate on my previous post…
[blockquote]
Country Troops
United States 23550
Britain 8530
Germany 3370
Canada 2500
Italy 2350
Netherlands 1770
France 1670
Poland 1140
Australia 1100
Spain 800
Turkey 760
Denmark 690
Norway 580
Romania 570
Other countries 3528
Note: The United States has a further 14,000 troops in Afghanistan outside the NATO force.
Source: Reuters; NATO (www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/isaf_placemat.pdf)
[/blockquote]
The United States is currently providing 37,550 troops to the war in Afghanistan. That’s more than 4 times as many troops provided by the US than the next highest troop level nation, Great Britain. In fact, the United States is providing a troop level 8,192 greater than all the other nations [b]combined[/b].
So, I wonder if our NATO partners will increase their troop levels?