Top U.S. Commander In Afghanistan Files Report, Serious Situation Is Detailed

Top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, has issued his report on the war in Afghanistan and he is calling the situation "serious" but says with a revised strategy, success can be achieved.

From the report at Reuters, here's a bit of what McChrystal said:

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in a statement announcing the review was ready.

His review is expected to suggest concentrating forces in more heavily populated areas, and also stepping up efforts to train Afghan soldiers and police.
Speculation has swirled about whether McChrystal will conclude he needs still more troops, or whether U.S. commanders and political leaders will agree to allow a further escalation.

Well, McChrystal didn't call me for input into any new strategies but I'll give it anyway. And that is this: Have a damn meeting with Afghan President Karzai and tell him that if Karzai wants his people safe and his government to survive, he better sign on the dotted line that the Rules of Engagement are returning to the previous level of finding Taliban and killing them on the spot - whether they are in a school, a mosque, a compound or on a road. The new rules of engagement have been put in place because of both Afghan complaints about civilian casualties and "outrage" from the American press and what that has accomplished is the highest level yet of American casualties in the history of the war. That's complete bullshit. If Karzai is happy with hundreds of his civilians being blown to bits by the Taliban but will not allow a single civilian casualty due to American air support, then fuck him. We'll pull out and see if he last 2 months.

Don't get me wrong...I think this war in Afghanistan is essential - the whole reason for being there is to prevent the Taliban from attaining the level of control in the country they had prior to our invasion and if we leave, that will certainly happen and we will be back at square one where al Qaeda and others are firmly in place in the country masterminding 9/11 attacks once again. But for the U.S. military to be handicapped to only restricted rules of engagement is hogwash.

Somewhere along the line, someone got the idea in their head that zero civilian casualties and heavy U.S. casualties would gain the support of Afghan civilians against the Taliban. And that is madness. At just the time when Pakistan is hammering the Taliban in NW Pakistan, the U.S. has adopted this cream puff approach and it is killing our efforts and our troops.

U.S. commander: Afghanistan situation serious

KABUL (Reuters) - The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan delivered a long-awaited strategic review on Monday, describing the 8-year-old war as in a serious state, but saying success could be achieved with a revised strategy.
Officials gave no indication in public as to whether U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, who commands a record-sized force of more than 100,000 troops, would ask for still more reinforcements to carry out his new strategy.
The review is expected to spell out a completely revised approach to conducting the war, which Barack Obama considers the main foreign policy priority of his young U.S. presidency.
"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in a statement announcing the review was ready.
McChrystal has been working on the review since Obama put him in charge of the war in June.
His review, sent to the U.S. military's Central Command (CentCom) responsible for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to NATO headquarters in Brussels, is not expected to make firm recommendations about future troop strength just yet.
However, military officials say it will form the basis for a decision about force size which could be taken within weeks -- a politically fraught calculation that could mark a turning point in the Obama presidency.
The report comes at a time when Afghanistan is stuck in political limbo, with the outcome as yet unclear from a presidential election on August 20. Authorities were due later on Monday to issue fresh results.
Incomplete results so far show President Hamid Karzai leading, but not by enough to avoid a second-round run-off against his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who accuses the authorities of widespread fraud.
ADJUSTED FOCUS
McChrystal now commands 103,000 troops in Afghanistan, including 63,000 Americans, more than half of whom arrived this year as part of an escalation strategy begun under outgoing President George W. Bush and ramped up under Obama.
The existing force is set to rise to 110,000, including 68,000 Americans, by the end of this year.
Since taking command, McChrystal has adjusted the focus of Western forces from hunting down insurgents to trying to protect the Afghan population, borrowing in part from U.S. tactics in Iraq developed under CentCom commander General David Petraeus.
His review is expected to suggest concentrating forces in more heavily populated areas, and also stepping up efforts to train Afghan soldiers and police.
Speculation has swirled about whether McChrystal will conclude he needs still more troops, or whether U.S. commanders and political leaders will agree to allow a further escalation.
The additional U.S. forces that have arrived so far have pushed out into formerly Taliban-held territory, especially over the past two months. Along with British troops, they have been taking by far the heaviest casualties of the war.
This year has already become the deadliest for foreign forces of the war. More Western troops have died in Afghanistan since March than in the entire period from 2001-2004.