 |
| Mission: Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l.) and Adm. Michael Mullen told Congress Tuesday they continue to press NATO to
send troops to Afghanistan. jose luis magana/ap |
In Europe, Gates to push for NATO help in Afghanistan
Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Scotland Wednesday to ask for more European troops.
from the December 13, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 2
Page 1 | 2
The US military, however, was already stretched in Iraq when President Bush called for a 'surge' of American forces in January and more than 30,000 additional troops were sent there. Although security has improved in some areas in Iraq, the military is still mired in the mission, preventing serious discussion about Afghanistan, analysts say.
That leaves little room for sending additional US forces there. "In Afghanistan, we do what we can," Mullen said. "In Iraq, we do what we must."
Asked by Mr. Skelton to elaborate, Mullen said Iraq is the military's priority given the personnel and equipment resources that are available. "We have resourced Afghanistan to the level that we think we can right now, given that balance," Mullen said.
Last week, Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway proposed sending as many as 15,000 marines to Afghanistan to help stabilize security. Analysts and military officials thought the idea had merit. But it was leaked to the press by a likely critic of the plan, and then painted negatively, dooming its prospects, analysts say. Ultimately, Mullen recommended against the plan and Gates ruled it out, at least for now.
Gates's reluctance to send more American forces to Afghanistan stems mostly from wanting to negotiate a better deal with NATO allies, though politics plays a role, too, analysts say.
"I don't think this administration wants to give the impression that things are worse in Afghanistan and therefore we have to send more troops," says Michele Flournoy, president and cofounder of the Center for a New American Security, a think tank in Washington.
Ms. Flournoy says it is better to send forces there now than later – and increase diplomatic and economic reconstruction efforts – otherwise the next administration inherits a bigger problem in Afghanistan. "My concern is there is no such thing as benign neglect when it comes to ongoing operations," she says.
For his part, Gates appears to agree. A former director of the CIA in the 1990s, Gates said he believes Afghanistan is a crucial mission and acknowledged that the US already "turned its back" on the country once after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. Four years later, Al Qaeda mounted the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.
"One of the lessons that I think we have is that if we abandon these countries, once we are in there and engaged, there is a very real possibility that we will pay a higher price in the end," Gates said.
1 | Page 2
RSS feed
