General: Afghanistan force must double, remain for years...my question...WHY?

[spanone]

what is this 'tough fight' about?????

KABUL — The top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan said Sunday that 2009 will be a "tough fight" in Afghanistan and the United States will need nearly twice as many troops for up to four years to stabilize the country.
In an interview with USA TODAY at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters, Gen. David McKiernan said increasing U.S. troop levels from about 32,000 to 55,000 or 60,000 is "needed until we get to this tipping point where the Afghan army and the Afghan police have both the capacity and capability to provide security for their people."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-12-07-afghantroops_N.htm

[bemildred]

1. Translation: "Right now, we are losing." nt

[spanone]

2. what the hell is our mission that we are losing?

get osama?

destroy poppy fields?

bring democracy?

[bemildred]

5. Don't be so particular.

The mission is to continue with the mission, thereby not losing because we had to come home with nothing to show. We all know that we got into Afghanistan to show we were serious after 9/11. We had to attack somebody after that. That's about as specific as it ever got, unless you count bringing democracy to the Middle East and that sort of twaddle which was introduced after the fact.

[Bigmack]

3. The mission is to turn ...

the Afghans into Murikans... somehow.

We want to give the dubious benefits of 21st Century democracy and capitalism to folks who are still in the 12th Century.

That's not an insult to Afghans, it's just an observation.

We didn't get where we are without Western Civilization going thru stages like the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution.

[tekisui]

4. This will be the 21st Century Vietnam.

Unwinnable, body and money drain. We are losing and can't win, whatever the 'mission' is. The Iraq Occupation will ultimately end, producing a new generation of terrorists that hate America, but Afghanistan will drag us down for a generation if we don't get out soon.

[librechik]

6. To make sure the Opium Highway runs as smooth as hemp butter

For somebody. Gee, who has the power to direct the US Army at the moment? Suppose it's somebody we can't see?