# Afghans must command foreign troops: state newspaper



## Ravage (Jul 29, 2008)

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=688124

KABUL -- To defeat Taliban militants, foreign troops led by NATO and the U.S. military in Afghanistan should come under the command of the Afghan government, otherwise the war will drag on, a government-owned newspaper said on Tuesday.

More than 71,000 foreign troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan fighting Taliban militants who have made a come back in the past two years, the bloodiest period since the militants' removal from power in 2001.

The lack of a unified command amongst the troops and failure to coordinate operations with the government has been a factor in the escalation of violence and the rebirth of the insurgents, the English-language Kabul Times newspaper said.

"If a united command is established and led by Afghan authorities, very soon we will win the war. Afghanistan is the land of the Afghans," the Kabul Times said in an editorial.

"They know better how to protect their country, how to provide a safe atmosphere in their homeland ... how to treat the friends and how to deal with the enemy," it said.

State newspapers in Afghanistan closely follow the government's views and it is likely that the Kabul Times was airing the opinion of some people in the administration.

"Without close coordination and an Afghan command, the conflict will last long," it said.

U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban government in late 2001 after it refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders responsible for September 11 attacks on the United States which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Ley al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are still at large and some 15,000 people have been killed in Afghanistan since 2006, according to figures of the United Nations and Afghan officials.

Foreign military commanders say the troops are in Afghanistan for the long haul and will withdraw once the Afghan government manages to stand on its own feet.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since the Taliban's ouster, has repeatedly complained about the lack of coordination of operations with foreign forces against the militants which he says leads to civilian deaths.


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## Scotth (Jul 29, 2008)

Lol, that paper should hold it's breadth.  I'm sure that will happen

If they could lead the fight we wouldn't need to be there.:doh:


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## AWP (Jul 29, 2008)

Never going to happen.


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## BS502 (Jul 29, 2008)

Scott you took the words out of my mouth. If they "knew best how to deal with the enemy" they should have fucking done it themselves a long time ago.


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## Gypsy (Jul 29, 2008)

No thanks, we're good.  

Seriously... 





> "They know better how to protect their country, how to provide a safe atmosphere in their homeland ... how to treat the friends and how to deal with the enemy," it said.



Then step the hell up, no time like the present.


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## RackMaster (Jul 29, 2008)

Gypsy said:


> No thanks, we're good.
> 
> Seriously...
> 
> *Then step the hell up, no time like the present.*



:uhh:  Oh they step up, then turn around and hide....   well I can't say that about all of them but...


If the Afghan Gov't pushed for this, it's time for every one to pull out and for that whole AO to become a shiny mirror.


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## DA SWO (Jul 29, 2008)

We should release a story saying we are considering a pullout, then see how fast the Afghani's start crying...


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## AWP (Jul 29, 2008)

SOWT said:


> We should release a story saying we are considering a pullout, then see how fast the Afghani's start crying...



That is priceless.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jul 30, 2008)

I say they should turn it back over to the ODA's  and other SOF units, maybe some military training advisory group as well... Let the Afghans gov throw their name on it, but allow the people who know how to fight the war fight it...:2c:


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## x SF med (Jul 30, 2008)

J.A.B. said:


> I say they should turn it back over to the ODA's  and other SOF units, maybe some military training advisory group as well... Let the Afghans gov throw their name on it, but allow the people who know how to fight the war fight it...:2c:



I guess I shouldn't call you a Leg anymore.;)  Good post.


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## car (Jul 30, 2008)

J.A.B. said:


> I say they should turn it back over to the ODA's  and other SOF units, maybe some military training advisory group as well... Let the Afghans gov throw their name on it, but allow the people who know how to fight the war fight it...:2c:



I agree. Rummy's idea worked in the Afghan theater. Unfortunately he tried to apply it to the Iraq theater. :doh:

Iraq needed a combination of heavy forces, supported by SOF, but he got such a little woody from the success in Afghan, that his post-coital bliss got the better of him. :2c: 

Nothing new here


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## AWP (Jul 30, 2008)

J.A.B. said:


> I say they should turn it back over to the ODA's  and other SOF units, maybe some military training advisory group as well... Let the Afghans gov throw their name on it, but allow the people who know how to fight the war fight it...:2c:



I agree. Totally. We conventionalized (I think I made up a word) an unconventional war.

Problem is the Army won't give up all of these GO and O-6 billets that they've created. I was at the JOC at Bagram 3-4 years ago and they had E-6's getting coffee for the colonels.

Realistically an 18A if he makes GO rank can top out at what...2 stars without a tour across the fence? If we can't trust a 2 star to command troops in a war then we need to seriously re-evaluate how we are growing officers.

Fortunately, mother Army took over to save us from the scourge of independently acting small groups of highly trained men doing what they were put on this earth to do. Raise an army, train it, gather intel, lead it into battle and then work themselves out of a job? Poppycock! Yes, mother Army is here with her armor-trained and bred men ready to minimze the Kursk salient, drive the North Koreans to the Yalu, advance to the Tigris and declare victory! Those Master's degrees and staff tours and years spent as aides to powerful and important people will set the stage for our ultimate triumph. Language ability, cross cultural communication skills, and living among those you seek to liberate? Mother Army doesn't need T.E. Lawrence and whoever heard of Aaron Bank? It needs Doug MacArthur and George Patton.


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