Permanent Bases Planned for Afghanistan

[illinoisprogressive]

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Six years after the first U.S. bombs began falling on Afghanistan's Taliban government and its al-Qaida guests, America is planning for a long stay.
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Originally envisioned as a temporary home for invading U.S. forces, the sprawling American base at Bagram, a former Soviet outpost in the shadow of the towering Hindu Kush mountains, is growing in size by nearly a third.

Today the U.S. has about 25,000 troops in the country, and other NATO nations contribute another 25,000, more than three times the number of international troops in the country four years ago, when the Taliban appeared defeated.

The Islamic militia has come roaring back since then, and 2007 has been the battle's bloodiest year yet.

Barnett R. Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan at New York University, said U.S. leaders in Washington "utterly failed" to understand what was needed to consolidate that original Taliban rout, which started with airstrikes on Oct. 7, 2001, less than a month after the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington and New York.

"The Bush administration did not see Afghanistan as a long-term commitment, and its leaders deceived themselves into thinking they had won an irreversible victory. They did not consider Afghanistan important and always intended to focus on Iraq," he said.

"Now the U.S. and international community have fallen way behind, and the Taliban are winning strategically, even if we defeat them in every tactical engagement," he added.

At Bagram, new barracks will help accommodate the record number of U.S. troops in the country.

"We've grown in our commitment to Afghanistan by putting another brigade (of troops) here, and with that we know that we're going to have an enduring presence," said Col. Jonathan Ives. "So this is going to become a long-term base for us, whether that means five years, 10 years — we don't know.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071006/ap_on_re_as/afghan_six_years_later

[msongs]

1. barack obama is gonna get his way after all.....

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070814/NEWS08/208140358/-1/news08

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[Kagemusha]

2. Yeah well at least it's in the general area of the real Al Qaeda.

More focus on international terrorists, less on Iraqi national terrorists.

[Disturbed]

3. US Troops will be in Afghanistan for at least 100 years unless

all those prophecies about 2012 come true.