Secretary Gates Blames NATO For Rising Afghan Violence

In an unusual public criticism, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he believes NATO forces currently deployed in southern Afghanistan do not know how to combat a guerrilla insurgency, a deficiency that could be contributing to the rising violence in the fight against the Taliban.

"I'm worried we're deploying [military advisors] that are not properly trained and I'm worried we have some military forces that don't know how to do counterinsurgency operations," Gates said in an interview.

Keep reading.

Comments

[Driver125]

Well golly, gosh darn! It's about time that they discovered what's wrong with this war. Just in the nick 'o time, I might add.

[GrouchoMarxist]

Once again, the Party of Personal Responsibility (TM) fingers a likely scapegoat.

[HumeSkeptic]

Meanwhile, in Pakistan:

Pakistan takes a step backwards
Syed Saleem Shahzad
atimes.com

"From Pakistan's point of view, the best way to avoid an extremist backlash and quell all talk of its nuclear arsenal falling into militant hands, is to back off from the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan, where its military is battling the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda. Instead, there is now talk of renewed peace dialogue, even though this is exactly what the United States does not want."

---------------

Pakistani's say no more fighting Taliban and al Qaeda. All that did was create more problems for them at home.

[ErnestineBass]

Now there's a winning strategy. Blame your only ally.

[2224612]

Hay Bob!!!

Send some of the Swiftboaters to Afghanistan to instruct the NATO troops in the proper way to kill people who don't want foriegners in their country.

After all, listening to what they had to say about Senator Kerry in 2004, they must all be experts at guerilla warfare.

[SubparDude]

That's telling the Coalition of the Willies!!

Why can't they be more like us? It's those speedos.

[misterbone]

Hey, Bill, didn't you get the memo? You go to war with the NATO you have, not the NATO you want.

[American Pie]

Best cull out the cannucks on this assignment, Bob. They are just a waste of time.

[oldgringo]

Gates---the "new face" that was gonna "change stuff" and WIN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRA,just to give THE FRAT BRAT BUSH a "legacy"!
Not even BETRAYUS PRETRAEUS has done that, and now Gates-Bush is giving us another "surge" of US MARINES to go DIE FOR HIS LEGACY----this time in Astan---
So be sure to vote REPUBLICAN AT EVERY CHANCE SO THE USA can go down in flames THAT MUCH FASTER!

[HumeSkeptic]

Sure. And we know how to defeat gueriila insurgency. We did it within days in Vietnam and then recently in Iraq.

Looks like Gates wants us to go in there and get our asses kicked some more by those Afghans - the same guys who kicked Soviet ass.

[GrouchoMarxist]

NATO? He's blaming NATO? Oh, brother.

[DASM]

Sorry, but Gates has now lost any - if any- credibility he had. Sure, let's blame our allies, then wonder why they distrust us. What a moron! Who hired this jerk??-- Oh, wait, I remember now....

[American Pie]

Bob Gates knows the score. Better listen up if you know whats good for ya.

[American Pie]

You tell em Bob.

[nellieh]

I wonder if he gave any thought to withdrawing troops prior to invading Iraq would have something to do with increased violence in Afghanistan. Divert attention from the root cause. Remember Tora Bora? Apparently Gates doesn't. Bumper crops of poppys will fund a war for cave dwellers. This administration has tried to minimize the conflict there since its inception. Remember a small, light force was all that would be needed by Rumsfeld? Same thing in Iraq. It didn't work in either place. It was enough to defeat a rudderless army in Iraq and religious nuts in Afghanistan but not the population.