Gates: It Would Be Tough To Ask For More Troops In Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it would be difficult to request more U.S. troops in Afghanistan in six to 12 months.

"It would be a hard sell, there's no question about it," Gates told CNN in response to a question about additional troops. Excerpts of Gates' interview to be aired Sunday on "Fareed Zakaria GPS" were released Friday night.

"I think we will have between the American military commitment and our coalition partners _ the ISAF partners _ we will have about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan," he said, referring to NATO's International Security Assistance Force. "That's only about 10,000 shy of what the Russians had, and I think we need to think about that."

Russians invaded Afghanistan three decades ago, and withdrew after a decade of fierce resistance from Afghan fighters.

President Barack Obama this year ordered 21,000 new troops to the Central Asian country to bolster the record 38,000 already there. Taliban and other militants have made a violent comeback the last three years after what appeared to be an initial defeat following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan that came after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A week ago, Gates said more civilians with skills beyond the battlefield will be needed. The administration said it would send several hundred citizens, from agronomists to economists, to work on reconstruction and development issues as part of the military's counterinsurgency campaign. That has proven to be difficult, and the Pentagon said that reservists, who often have the skills needed in such a buildup, might be asked to fill the gap.

Comments

[cdnnewsjunky]

If America won't anti up more troops, that pretty well kills the coalition.

[hark]

Is it not our occupation of these lands that is causing all the instability? Are we not breeding the militants and insurgents by our presence?

Shortly after special forces invaded Afghanistan, we were told the war on terror would be unlike any that we ever fought before, that it would not be conventional warfare at all, but a clandestine operation with secret missions and intelligence gathering, and that we wouldn't be able to measure progress on the battlefields as we had in the past.

Now look at it. Between Iraq and Afghanistan and the United States and NATO we've got what - nearly a quarter million of conventional troops and all the military finery of weapons and vehicles and helicopters and fighter jets and drones and tanks and equipment that goes along with it. It's exactly like any other conventional war, only as with Vietnam, the "enemy" refuses to behave like a conventional military force, so we go on battling ghosts, year after year after year and getting absolutely nowhere.

When is this madness going to stop?

[Kassandra]

All this attention on the Middle East while North Korea acquired ( under Bush) and is now threatening the world with nooks.
I guess it's cause they don't have the poisonous oil, that we aren't interested in THEM
And, I guess, the banks and the IMF will lend US our $$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$ back to fight these useless wars....at interest, of course.

[hark]

N. Korea is threatening the world with nukes? Are you kidding?

We've got 9000 of the things. What is N. Korea going to do, start a war?

Please.

[SammyD]

Uh, yes. It only takes 1.

[obamanomics]

Hard to sell when the news reports the Taliban are more interested in P-Stan then A-Stan. yet A-Stan is where they want more troops.

[ramal]

Then, "Don't ask; don't tell."

[Betrayed]

Another promise broken.

[Betrayed]

Obama's soft, warm, and fuzzy. He has NO stomach for any kind of fight.
Way to go, Big O'!

[twilight druid]

Betrayed wrote:

"Obama's soft, warm, and fuzzy. He has NO stomach for any kind of fight.
Way to go, Big O'!"

****

Quick man! Enlist yourself and your family members and get over there before its too late.

[Betrayed]

So much for fighting the real enemy!

[Independent voter]

From a videotaped interview, October 27, 2007

OBAMA: I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home, we will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.

[toochie]

That bank is being bailed out as we speak.

[greginwva]

Yes he did say something along those lines about IRAQ.He also said he was going to send more troops to Afghanastan where the real central front on terrorism is.Those words may not be the exact quote but its pretty close.He said he would call in the JChiefs and order them to end the Iraq war on day one.He did that.He said he would leave some troops because we have a certain reponsibility there .He said all this before he was elected and he wasnt just saying it,he meant it and did it.Thats not to say he's right or wrong just that he's doing exactly what he campaigned on.

[Kassandra]

Bull

[SammyD]

he also said he was going to bomb Pakistan so what is he waiting for?

[Betrayed]

Translation:

We're leaving town!

[Dredd]

"These boots are made for" occupying and require oil in the sand under them to operate properly.

Afghanistan has no oil.

Iraq and Iran have oil.

"These boots are made for" ...

[WarSkeptic]

End our Occupation of Afghanistan
Pakistan will then drive the Taliban back into Afghanistan, where they are more at home anyway
The fighting then ends
Each country then determines their own way of government. The US is no longer to blame for all the problems of the Afghani people and then less people want to root against us.

[toochie]

I'd like to believe that, pass that pipe.

[WarSkeptic]

How is your plan going?
Oh yes, you pushed the Taliban towards the nuclear stockpile in Pakistan. Good job

[Bookkillrr]

If we end up in another war in Afghanistan, this will take away all of the good that President Obama has done. This is not a war the U.S. can win with guns. This is a job for the CIA. We can crush the taliban with food , schools, and giving the locals paying jobs for rebuilding and modernizing. Going into war with Afghanistan is going to be a major error. One unrealized weapon we have and have not fully utilized would be to purchase the poppy harvest at double the price, and then destroy them.
This is a people person war.

[JerryTheAngel]

Hear Hear!

If this was the advice that President Obama was receiving from his National Security Adviser, it would guarantee that Obama's domestic agenda is not stopped in it's tracks with a bloody and drawn out conflict in Afghanistan. This military occupation of Afghanistan is futile.

However, we can't do it by ourselves. The rest of the world also needs to invest money and intelligence into Afghanistan so that this country has a fighting chance to move out of a 1st century mentality to at least a 19th century mentality.

[Kassandra]

Hell, we can just use Agent Orange on their poppies. Of course, that will cause needless suffering to the people of that country, but when have we cared about that in the past?

[Rog49Thomas]

Let's hope an affirmative answer would be even tougher.

We've got to start considering our brave servicemen and servicewomen as "national treasure" and be very very careful how we "spend" them.

[jsinclair]

I love that CNN keeps promo-ing "Secretary Gates' exclusive appearance on 'GPS' following John King's 'State of the Union'".

Haha. Keep smacking down King, Obama administration. Let a real journalist like Zakaria get the interviews and leave King scrounging for all the Republicans he can find to rehash all his favorite talking points.

Hopefully, CNN will eventually get the message. "State of the Union" is a complete waste of 3 hours.