More troops to Afghanistan won’t solve problem – Russia
Published: 11 November, 2009, 20:51
Edited: 17 November, 2009, 10:25
TAGS: Military, Russia, Politics, Central Asia, USA
Sending more US forces to Afghanistan will hardly help stabilize the situation without strengthening Afghan law enforcement bodies, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko said Wednesday.
Nesterenko noted that the real result might be reached “only when strengthening the military presence is combined with effective measures in forming Afghani forces to fight drug trafficking, which is a financial source for Taliban activities.”
The Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that “no positive shifts in the country can be observed now.”
“The situation remains complicated, and furthermore, it tends to be getting worse,” he said. “Terrorist activity is widening; the Taliban and other extremist groups’ presence now spreads into the relatively quiet northern regions of the country.”
He also pointed out that this year has seen a record number of losses among foreign military staff in Afghanistan. According to his data, last year 295 people were killed, whereas in the first 10 months of this year the number has already reached 466.
In the spring, US President Barack Obama sent 21,000 troops to join the 68,000 already stationed in the country.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are united in the idea of sending 30,000 or more US troops to the area.
However, the president is not rushing into the move, as he is not quite sure about how eagerly the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan would help execute a new strategy, administration officials said Tuesday. Obama is to review the possible options in a meeting with his national security team on Wednesday, according to the president’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs.
11.11.2009, 19:23
6 comments
New York facing bankruptcy in a monthNY Governor David Paterson announced to a hastily assembled joint session of legislators that the state will be bankrupt in a month’s time unless lawmakers immediately strive to close an ever widening budget gap. |
12.11.2009, 01:56
3 comments
US “playing footsie” with Honduran juntaThe de facto government in Honduras is taking full advantage of mixed signals coming from the US, says RT contributor Wayne Madsen. |
This war is playing out in almost the exact same way as Vietnam. Just look at the similarities, America set up a new government... which is too corrupt to function, the people of the country are against the American occupation, and America's politicians hold their military back so much that the war can never be won...Americans never learn.