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Afghanistan to take years, says US chief
Paul Thompson in Miami14 Aug 2009
US defence secretary Robert Gates has presented a grim picture of the war in Afghanistan and admitted he cannot say when US troops will be able to leave.
He warned the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda will take a "few years" while the rebuilding of the country will stretch into decades.
With the American public tiring of an eight-year-old war, the former CIA director admitted he could not say when US troops could leave the region.
He said: "In the intelligence business, we always used to categorise information in two ways, secrets and mysteries.
"Mysteries were those where there were too many variables to predict. And I think that is how long US forces will be in Afghanistan is in that area."
Mr Gates warned US military resources could be stretched thin if thousands more troops were needed to secure the country from the Taliban.
There are 62,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan with a further 6,000 due to deploy before next week's presidential election. The US also still has 132,000 troops in Iraq.
He also said his top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, was free to ask for whatever he wanted.
Speaking at the Pentagon, Mr Gates said: "General McChrystal has been told very directly that we want him to ask for what he thinks he needs. I think you have to allow your commanders that freedom."
However, Mr Gates said providing extra troops could pose problems. "I would say also that the availability of forces is still a challenge," he said.
Reader views (1)
Hitler envisaged an ongoing conflict in the east,with Russia.This would divert his young men away from causing unrest back home in Germany.Is this part of the thinking behind the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan?
As Marvin sang,"Bills pile up sky high,send that boy off to die".
- Jimfred, London UK, 14/08/2009 15:16
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