British commander says war in Afghanistan cannot be won

[RoadVirus]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.

That's what was said about Iraq. After Bush's surge, everything got better.

 

[Phate]

Afghanistan can not be won through military means. But through the people.

Yes, sending troops can help control territory for a certain amount of time. But unless you are able to convince the Afghanis that you are there to help them. Unless you are there to convince them you are there to give them opportunities. Unless you are able to create a centralized government that can control ALL of Afghanistan...unless you do that groups such as the taliban and Al-qaeda will always find safe-havens in tribal villages.

 

[Phate]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.

That's what was said about Iraq. After Bush's surge, everything got better.

Do you even know what the surge was?

 

[Bootneck]

And once a Muslim territory, ALWAYS a muslim territory. They have not forgotten, and they will not quit. They don't want peace, they want us to die so they can continue to spread and conquer. And they will continue to do so until we kill them. It's pretty simple. No shit this isn't a war that will be won with "discussion". If that's the way they've been trying to fight it, damn straight we'll lose.

No one is attempting to change it from being a muslim territory. That isn't why we're there.
As for not quitting or not wanting peace, many do and only a minority of extremists, mainly from Pakistan, don't.

We’re sick of war: a Taleban leader risks his life to point out a new route to peace

Facing another bloody summer of fighting in Helmand province, the Taleban commander uttered words that could cost him his life. “We all want peace. We want to put down our guns,” he said quietly.

A powerfully built man with a flowing beard and a disarmingly soft voice, Commander Mansoor is — according to checks with Western and Afghan sources — a mid-level Taleban commander from southern Helmand, part of the bloody insurgency fighting against US and British troops in Afghanistan.

At a meeting with The Times arranged by tribal intermediaries, however, he painted a picture of war weariness and of local communities desperate to find a way to escape a war that is seemingly without end.

As the conflict enters its eighth summer Nato is hoping that it can exploit such popular disillusion. Mullah Mansoor (not his real name), however, is simply looking for a way out. “Local people do not like the Taleban or the Western forces, they even don’t like us local Taleban” he conceded. “They say to us, ‘if you want to go to Paradise fight in the desert, fight in the mountains but don’t fight in my house’. My wish is just to have peace and security in my area.”

We’re sick of war: a Taleban leader risks his life to point out a new route to peace - Times Online

Something else you're obviously not aware off:

4,500 Taleban insurgents defected between 2005 and last year

95% want reconciliation if they can be assured of security, according to the Governor of Musa Qala

7,000 to 11,000 Insurgents in total, according to 2008 estimates

5% are “hard core”

25% estimated as uncertain or wavering

70% fighting for the wage alone. $8 a day - a king's ransom to an Afghan.

Sources: Jobsforafghans.org; CIA world factbook; Times archives

 

[Zebra]

that commander was right!

 

[Zebra]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.


It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.

He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.

But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.

"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.

"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.

Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.

Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."

Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.

NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"

NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.

"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.

"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.

"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.

Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace.

(Writing by Myra MacDonald; additional reporting by Jonathon Burch in Kabul; Editing by Valerie Lee)

he knew that in 2008 already

 

[Couchpotato]

that commander was right!

It was only “unwinnable” because we are unwilling to do what it takes to win that type of war.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

You can't defeat roadside bombs or suicide bombers

Very true.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

Don’t forget who armed the Mujahideen in the first place. Egged on by a Democrat senator.

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[frigidweirdo]

that commander was right!

A lot of people with knowledge of Afghanistan knew this would be so. It's not difficult.

 

[justoffal]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.


It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.

He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.

But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.

"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.

"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.

Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.

Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."

Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.

NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"

NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.

"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.

"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.

"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.

Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace.

(Writing by Myra MacDonald; additional reporting by Jonathon Burch in Kabul; Editing by Valerie Lee)

They just didn't want to do what they needed to to win the war which would have been rather inhumane.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

They just didn't want to do what they needed to to win the war which would have been rather inhumane.

I think one could argue that we won the war, it was the peace the followed that we lost.

 

[Zebra]

I think one could argue that we won the war, it was the peace the followed that we lost.

well said!