Hooray for the Marines in Afghanistan, huh? High praise for them from the U.S. Army General who has been leading NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan McNeill, who is stepping down shortly.
Here's what he said specifically about the Marines that just recently joined the fray against the Taliban:
McNeill's main message here in the article at Breitbart is that the Afghanistan War against the Taliban is going to be a very long one if the Taliban continue to be able to use Pakistan as a refuge. Here's a bit from the article:
Nothing really new there but at the same time, McNeill specifically talks about how Pakistan's refuge "regenerates" the enemy - a good point. I've been saying it for a long time here that any peace agreements with the Taliban will prove not only fruitless but detrimental. Apparently Pakistan's new government is going to have to see the total destruction of their country by the Taliban before they wise up.
I, personally, hate to see General McNeill go as he really turned things around in Afghanistan, especially with his rewriting the terms of engaging the enemy. This guy has been ruthless and it has shown with two years in a row without even a smidgen of a Spring Offensive out of the Taliban. Given the right number of troops, McNeill could have done so much more.
NATO general sees long fight in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The outgoing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said the insurgency there will last for years unless Pakistan shuts down safe havens where militants train and recruit.
Gen. Dan McNeill also blamed new peace agreements in Pakistan's tribal areas for a spike in violence in eastern Afghanistan, where U.S. forces operate along the volatile border.
"If there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, there's still going to be a challenge there," McNeill said in an interview with The Associated Press.
NATO has said there was a 50 percent spike in violence in eastern Afghanistan in April when compared with 2007.
"We've also monitored and reported in the past what happens when there are so-called peace negotiations with these terrorists and extremists inside those sanctuaries," McNeill said. "And when there have been (negotiations), there has been a spike in the untoward events on our side of the border."
McNeill, a 61-year-old four-star general from North Carolina who has fought in most American conflicts since Vietnam, will step down next week as commanding officer of the 40-nation International Security Assistance Force. He will be replaced by U.S. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe.
McKiernan will inherit a greatly expanded force compared to the one McNeill took command of in February 2007, when it had 36,000 troops. Today it has 51,000. McNeill said in the interview on Wednesday that the increase was proof of the international community's commitment to success in Afghanistan.
"That says to me that all the wags who in late 2006 and early 2007 who were predicting the failure and the fracture of the NATO alliance here probably got it wrong. And I'm not trying to smirk or anything, I'm just saying people ought to go back and see what was being written," he said.
There is also a record number of U.S. forces in the country—33,000, including 2,400 Marines who arrived this spring to battle insurgents in the south, where ISAF has not had enough troops. McNeill said the U.S. will probably send more troops to the south next year.
Violence and the drug trade have also spiked on McNeill's watch. Insurgents last year set off a record number of suicide bombs—more than 140. More than 8,000 people, mostly militants, died in violence, according to U.N. analysts. Former military officers have warned that the international effort is in danger of failing.
McNeill said the NATO force in Afghanistan is short of troops. "It's an under-resourced force. That's been a constant theme since I've been here," he said.
Here's what he said specifically about the Marines that just recently joined the fray against the Taliban:
But he also said the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has been battling militants in the Garmser district of southern Helmand province, "is producing some really good effects ... and I'm also going to admit that they're a little better than anticipated."
McNeill's main message here in the article at Breitbart is that the Afghanistan War against the Taliban is going to be a very long one if the Taliban continue to be able to use Pakistan as a refuge. Here's a bit from the article:
The outgoing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said the insurgency there will last for years unless Pakistan shuts down safe havens where militants train and recruit.
Gen. Dan McNeill also blamed new peace agreements in Pakistan's tribal areas for a spike in violence in eastern Afghanistan, where U.S. forces operate along the volatile border.
"If there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, there's still going to be a challenge there," McNeill said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Nothing really new there but at the same time, McNeill specifically talks about how Pakistan's refuge "regenerates" the enemy - a good point. I've been saying it for a long time here that any peace agreements with the Taliban will prove not only fruitless but detrimental. Apparently Pakistan's new government is going to have to see the total destruction of their country by the Taliban before they wise up.
I, personally, hate to see General McNeill go as he really turned things around in Afghanistan, especially with his rewriting the terms of engaging the enemy. This guy has been ruthless and it has shown with two years in a row without even a smidgen of a Spring Offensive out of the Taliban. Given the right number of troops, McNeill could have done so much more.
NATO general sees long fight in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The outgoing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said the insurgency there will last for years unless Pakistan shuts down safe havens where militants train and recruit.
Gen. Dan McNeill also blamed new peace agreements in Pakistan's tribal areas for a spike in violence in eastern Afghanistan, where U.S. forces operate along the volatile border.
"If there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, there's still going to be a challenge there," McNeill said in an interview with The Associated Press.
NATO has said there was a 50 percent spike in violence in eastern Afghanistan in April when compared with 2007.
"We've also monitored and reported in the past what happens when there are so-called peace negotiations with these terrorists and extremists inside those sanctuaries," McNeill said. "And when there have been (negotiations), there has been a spike in the untoward events on our side of the border."
McNeill, a 61-year-old four-star general from North Carolina who has fought in most American conflicts since Vietnam, will step down next week as commanding officer of the 40-nation International Security Assistance Force. He will be replaced by U.S. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe.
McKiernan will inherit a greatly expanded force compared to the one McNeill took command of in February 2007, when it had 36,000 troops. Today it has 51,000. McNeill said in the interview on Wednesday that the increase was proof of the international community's commitment to success in Afghanistan.
"That says to me that all the wags who in late 2006 and early 2007 who were predicting the failure and the fracture of the NATO alliance here probably got it wrong. And I'm not trying to smirk or anything, I'm just saying people ought to go back and see what was being written," he said.
There is also a record number of U.S. forces in the country—33,000, including 2,400 Marines who arrived this spring to battle insurgents in the south, where ISAF has not had enough troops. McNeill said the U.S. will probably send more troops to the south next year.
Violence and the drug trade have also spiked on McNeill's watch. Insurgents last year set off a record number of suicide bombs—more than 140. More than 8,000 people, mostly militants, died in violence, according to U.N. analysts. Former military officers have warned that the international effort is in danger of failing.
McNeill said the NATO force in Afghanistan is short of troops. "It's an under-resourced force. That's been a constant theme since I've been here," he said.
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