20 NATO Countries to Send More Troops to Afghanistan
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Yes, the Iraqis made the Americans job a lot easier because they were against Al-Qaeda. I know that Al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups were not weak
The sunni insurgents were Iraqis. And so were the shiite insurgents. And they both fought against us for six years. Yes, in the end the mentality changed, and that is precicely what they are trying to do in Afghanistan now.
How much would it take to get them to fight in Afghanistan?
Taleban are mostly Sunnis, so I don't think that's going to work. This is also why Iran was very happy to see us fight the Sunnis there. Almost as happy as seeing us take out their #1 enemy in Iraq.
I prefer to let the military commanders fight the war in Afghanistan. I suspect they have actual knowledge of what they are facing, not the baseless drivel being opined in this forum. Now that the people involved, have a plan and objective, I am quite sure they are fully capable of carrying it out.
looks like germany and france don't want in on this "adventure":
France, Germany refuse to commit more troops for Afghanistan | Raw Story (http://rawstory.com/2009/12/france-germany-refuse-commitment-troops-afghanistan/ - broken link)
let me add a quote from supkis:
From day one, our ‘allies’ have been, at best, very tepid. The only exception has been Britain. But the troops and systems support from Britain have been less than 1/10th of US efforts. And in Britain, support for these insane wars is fading very fast. For example, when Obama/Bush announced 30,000 US troops will go there to die, Britain peeped that they would join us and send….500 troops! Whoopee!
Taleban are mostly Sunnis, so I don't think that's going to work. This is also why Iran was very happy to see us fight the Sunnis there. Almost as happy as seeing us take out their #1 enemy in Iraq.
I was being facetious, although one must wonder about the motivations of those who will switch sides en masse when a few bucks are thrown their way.
Not that it matters, but something tells me Iraqi Sunnis and anyone associated with the Taleban would not see eye to eye unless they had a common enemy- which they no longer have.
Of the approximately 65,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, about 53,000 are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that operates throughout Afghanistan, and the remainder are under the separate U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. and partner forces also run 26 regional enclaves to secure reconstruction (Provincial Reconstruction Teams, PRTs), and are expanding an Afghan National Army and reforming an Afghan National Police force—the two combined now total about 175,000. The United States has provided about $40 billion in assistance to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, of which about $18 billion was to equip and train these Afghan forces. Breakdowns are shown in the tables at the end. See also CRS Report RL33627, NATO in Afghanistan: A Test of the Transatlantic Alliance, by Vincent Morelli and Paul Belkin; and CRS Report RL32686, Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard.
Between 2001 and 2006, ISAF proceeded in four stages to extend its area of responsibility over the whole of Afghanistan. Although the allies agree on ISAF’s mission, they have differed on how to accomplish it. Some allies continue to restrict their forces from engaging in counter-insurgency operations and have placed operational restrictions on their troops...
Most observers suggest that ISAF’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan will require a long-term commitment from the allies. The Obama Administration has made the conflict a policy priority. On March 27, 2009 President Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan and at the April 3-4 NATO summit successfully gained allied unity for the new strategy. The President committed an additional 17,000 U.S. military forces to address the conflict and to support the national elections held in August. The 111th Congress continues to support the United States commitment in Afghanistan, and now toward Pakistan, despite some rising opposition influenced in part by a growing negative public opinion in the United States towards the war. The Congress has also demanded more integration and cooperation among all parties involved in the stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. See also CRS Report RL30588,
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman and CRS Report R40156, War in Afghanistan: Strategy, Military Operations, and Issues for Congress, by Catherine Dale.
The sunni insurgents were Iraqis. And so were the shiite insurgents. And they both fought against us for six years. Yes, in the end the mentality changed, and that is precicely what they are trying to do in Afghanistan now.
I know they were both Iraqis, especially the shiites they welcomed the U.S. when Saddam was ousted, then the Shiites and sunnis were fighting each other, so basically the shiites joined the U.S. faster because the new iraqi government had a lot of shiites and favored them more, then after sometime the sunnis agreed to follow the same path but the situation in Afghanistan is not the same.
Last edited by mrhman92; 12-04-2009 at 02:20 PM..
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