Advancing Marines test new Afghan war doctrine

 

By Golnar Motevalli

BARCHA, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Winning ground is one thing. Convincing Afghan villagers you will not leave, abandoning them to a vengeful Taliban, is a bigger challenge for U.S. Marines advancing deep into southern Helmand province.

The Marines, part of a 10,000-strong force sent to Afghanistan this year, have pushed south into hostile terrain, winning ground and pledging to build the long-term trust and security needed to prevent insurgents from returning.

A day after taking over the former home of a local doctor which had been used as a post by the Taliban, the Marines were building it into a base and trying to win over local people.

"You have to make a decision, please. You want to work with us or you want to work with the Taliban?" the clean-shaven young Marine Captain Junwei Sun asked a wizened and bearded village elder at the first "shura" -- or meeting -- with local people.

The base is a sprawling, dry mud compound of rooms and a large courtyard, topped by a watch room which gives a panoramic view of the surrounding cornfields and villages.

"I'm good at fighting people like this (the Taliban). If you help me, I guarantee, over time we'll get security here," First Lieutenant Samuel Oliver said.

It took 200 men from the 2nd battalion 8th Marines two days to advance just 4km (2.5 miles) to Barcha in the face of insurgent attacks and a string of roadside explosive traps.

The eight-year-old war is at its most intense, with more than 400 NATO troops dead this year. U.S. Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal has told President Barack Obama he needs 40,000 troops to push back a resurgent Taliban and convince the population insurgents will not win.

(Read the rest of the story by clicking the link below)

Advancing Marines test new Afghan war doctrine | U.S. | Reuters

'Nuclear Weapons Put World's Future At Stake'

The future of mankind is at stake and all nations must strive to rid the world of nuclear arms, the US President has said.

As North Korea launched a long-range rocket over Japan, Barack Obama dismissed those who warned the proliferation of nuclear weapons could not be checked.
"This fatalism is a deadly adversary," he told a crowd of 20,000 in Prague. "For if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable."
President Obama said his goal of "a world without nuclear weapons" won't be reached soon, "perhaps not in my lifetime," but he said his country, with one of the world's largest arsenals and the only nation to have used an atomic bomb, had a "moral responsibility" to start taking steps now.
Addressing his American audience, President Obama said surrendering nuclear weapons must be a global "all for one" endeavour.
"Make no mistake: As long as these weapons exist, we will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies."
He also gave his most unequivocal pledge yet to proceed with a missile defence system in Europe.
The shield will be based in the Czech Republic and Poland, on Russia's doorstep.

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Barack Obama Makes It Official: We Are At War In Pakistan

Claiming that "the safety of people around the world is at stake", Barack Obama has laid out his strategy for Afghanistan that includes dramatically increased military operations inside of Pakistan.

On Friday, Obama called the mountainous Pakistani side of the Afghan border "the most dangerous place in the world" and reaffirmed the U.S. view that in order for the war in Afghanistan to be successful, the U.S. military would have to go after al-Qaeda forces in Pakistan.

Obama also added the following during his Friday speech: "Let me be clear: al-Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan."

This comes on the heels of the announcement that 4,000 more U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan, in addition to the 17,000 increase that had already been announced.

Obama's plan also includes a goal of boosting the Afghan army from 80,000 to 134,000 troops by 2011.

The U.K. is also now offering its full backing for a comprehensive military campaign inside of Pakistan.

In fact, U.K. defense secretary John Hutton says that there must now be “an equal focus on both countries”. Current government plans call for the U.K. to send an additional 2,000 British troops to Afghanistan.



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Israel bans Palestinian cultural events

Internal security minister instructs police to suppress any attempt to hold PA-sponsored events in framework of festivities marking declaration of Jerusalem as 'capital of Arab culture'; Nazareth mayor: Dichter competing with Lieberman's anti-Arab trend

Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter has signed a number of injunctions banning a series of events titled "Jerusalem, the capital of Arab culture," which were scheduled to be held Saturday in Jerusalem, Nazareth and in other parts of the country under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Dichter instructed Israel Police to "suppress any attempts by the PA to hold events in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country." According to the minister, the events would constitute a violation of the interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which includes a clause that forbids the PA from organizing events in Israeli territory.

Mass police and Border Guard forces will be deployed in Jerusalem and Nazareth to enforce Dichter's order.

The festival was organized in the framework of a series of events held throughout the Arab world following the declaration of Jerusalem as the "Arab cultural capital in 2009." The festivities are expected to kick off in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The festival was supposed to be held two months ago but was delayed due to Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

Nazareth Mayor Ramiz Jeraisi said in response to the ban that "I never thought they (Israeli authorities) would take it this far. After all, this is a cultural event."

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Israeli Soldier Says Rabbis Framed Gaza Mission as Religious

By Howard Schneider
Washington Post Foreign Service

JERUSALEM, March 20 -- A soldier involved in Israel's recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip said in published reports Friday that the military's rabbinical staff distributed material characterizing the operation as a religious mission to "get rid of the gentiles who disturb us from conquering the holy land."

In the second day of published accounts from soldiers critical of the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, the daily Maariv ran excerpts of an interview with a squad commander in Israel's Givati Brigade. He was identified only by his first name, given as Rahm.

The daily quoted him as saying that the Gaza operation from the beginning had "the feeling of almost a religious mission."

While military rabbis provided routine services -- such as distributing books of psalms and leading prayers at the start of the operation -- some religious materials veered in a political direction, he said.

"The military rabbinate brought many magazines and articles with a very clear message: 'We are the Jewish people, a miracle brought us to the land of Israel, God returned us to the land, and now we have to struggle so as to get rid of the gentiles who disturb us from conquering the holy land.' All the feeling throughout all this operation of many of the soldiers was of a war of religions," he said. "As a commander, I tried to explain that the war is not a war of Kiddush Hashem [the sanctification of God's name, including through martyrdom] but over the stopping of the launching of the Qassam rockets."

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Rethink Afghanistan (Part 2): Pakistan, the "Most Dangerous Country in the World"

Pakistan is in such a perilous state that Bruce Riedel, a foreign policy expert leading President Obama's Afghanistan review, has called it "the most dangerous country in the world today." Pakistan has nuclear weapons and a government disconnected from the poverty, malnutrition, and lack of healthcare afflicting its people. And though Pakistan remains a U.S. ally, tensions continue to rise as the U.S. considers broadening military strikes within Pakistan's borders. Part two of Rethink Afghanistan focuses on how the Afghanistan crisis affects Pakistan and all of us.

Rethink Afghanistan

Technorati Tags: Rethink Afghanistan,afghanistan,Pakistan,video,Brave New Foundation,Robert Greenwald

More Troops + Afghanistan = Catastrophe (Full Video) - Rethink Afghanistan Part 1

In the video...

 

Andrew Bacevich is a professor of International Relations & History at Boston University. He has written several books, including The Limits of Power: The End of Military Exceptionalism and The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War.

Thomas J. Barfield is a professor of Anthropology at Boston University and the President of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies.

Robert Pape is a professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs. He is the author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism.

Carl Conetta is the Co-Director of the Project on Defense Alternatives.

Faiysal Alikhan is the Founder of the Foundation for Integrated Development Action. He chairs Pakistan’s International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Customs and Trade Regulation.

Stephen Kinzer is a foreign correspondent, writer, and the author of several books, including Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq.

Shukria Barakzai is a member of the Afghan parliament and helped draft Afghanistan’s constitution. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aina–E–Zan (Women’s Mirror), a weekly newspaper for women in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Dr. Ramaza Bashardost is Afghanistan's former Planning Minister, a current member of parliament and an Independent candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election.

Mohammad Osman Tariq is president of the pro-democracy group the National Council for Peace and Democracy in Afghanistan. He was a Mujahid commander and fought against the Russians in the Soviet-Afghan war. His recent publication Tribal Security System in Southeast Afghanistan is available here.

Ruslan Aushev is a retired Lt. General in the Russian Army and is Chief of the Committee of Russian Afghan Veterans. He is a former president of Ingushetia.

Anand Gopal is Afghanistan Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.

More Troops + Afghanistan = Catastrophe (Full Video) - Rethink Afghanistan Part 1

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan,war,anti-war,video,Brave New Films,Brave New Foundation,Robert Greenwald,Rethink Afghanistan

Soldier suicides skyrocket

But a tepid Senate hearing on Wednesday, with no testimony from lower-ranking combat troops from Iraq or Afghanistan, does little to explain why.

By Mark Benjamin - March 19, 2009 WASHINGTON -- The Senate Armed Services Committee hearings Wednesday on the rising suicide rate among U.S. ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan revealed some frightening new data, but did little to investigate the underlying causes of what is emerging as one of the darkest, most disturbing legacies of the wars.

Last year the Army had its highest suicide rate on record -- 140 soldiers. But new data from the Army on Wednesday showed the number jumping even higher. Forty-eight soldiers have already killed themselves so far this year. If that rate keeps up, nearly 225 Army soldiers will be dead by their own hand by the end of 2009.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., called the latest trends "alarming." Army Vice Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli admitted, "I, and the other senior leaders of our Army, readily acknowledge that these current figures are unacceptable."

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Israeli soldiers admit 'murdering' Gazans

"Israeli soldiers have confessed to wanton killing of Palestinian civilians and behaving immorally during the Operation Cast Lead in Gaza."

By Press TV - The soldiers who fought in the Gaza war told a post-operation conference that they had killed Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroyed their property under permissive rules of engagement.

"When we entered a house, we were supposed to bust down the door and start shooting inside and just go up story by story... I call that murder. Each story, if we identify a person, we shoot them. I asked myself - how is this reasonable?", an Israeli soldier said.

The testimonies includes killing of a Palestinian mother and her two children by an Israeli sharpshooter and the case of an elderly Palestinian woman who was killed as she was walking 100 meters (yards) from her home.

"We had taken over the house" and the family was released and told to go right. A mother and two children got confused and went left. "The sniper on the roof wasn't told that this was okay and that he shouldn't shoot", a soldier said.

"I don't know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don't know her story. . . I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out" It was cold-blooded murder."

Their testimony contradicts the Israel Defense Forces' claims that its troops had "observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation".

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Prosecute-Prosecute the Bush Administration!

An anthem for anyone who believes Presidents and Public officials are not above the law and therefore must be held accountable under national and international law!



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Iraq Update - 384 Dead, 665 Wounded in Iraq in February 2009

Data compiled from the US Military, the Iraqi Military, the Iraqi Government, morgues, & hospitals.
Saturday: 1 Marine, 3 Iraqis Killed; 19 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 1 US Soldier, 5 Iraqis Killed; 4 Iraqis Wounded
Thursday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded
Wednesday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 9 Wounded
Tuesday: 1 US Soldier, 5 Iraqis Killed; 15 Iraqis Wounded
Monday: 3 US Soldiers, 11 Iraqis Killed; 23 Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 17 Wounded
Saturday: 2 U.S. Soldiers, 4 Iraqis Killed; 9 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 3 Wounded
Thursday: 20 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
Wednesday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 2 Wounded
Tuesday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded
Monday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 41 Wounded
Sunday: 2 US Soldiers, 25 Iraqis Killed; 35 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded; 40 Bodies in Mass Grave
Friday: 1 UK Soldier, 45 Iraqis; 91 Iraqis Wounded
Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 22 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded
Wednesday: 31 Iraqis Killed, 94 Wounded
Tuesday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 15 Wounded
Monday: 4 US Soldiers, 9 Iraqis Killed; 29 Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 1 US Soldier, 8 Iraqis Killed; 25 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 1 US Soldier, 5 Iraqis Killed; 13 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded
Thursday: 21 Iraqis Killed, 19 Wounded
Wednesday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
Tuesday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 15 Wounded
Monday: 5 Iraqis Killed, 14 Wounded
Sunday: 1 US Soldier Killed, 3 Iraqis Wounded February 1, 2009

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It's All Good: Media Whores Help Militarists Plan More Wars

By Chris Floyd - "And so in the recent story, O'Hanlon – is trotted out to put a positive, progressive spin on the multi-war plan. It's a "good start," he says, because the Bush-Obama war chief Bob Gates has said that other parts of the government need to pitch in more on the imperial project; the Pentagon can't run the world all on its own."

Surely there is no one who still needs to be apprised of the fact that the New York Times is one of the chief organs of the American Empire, operating in a semi-official fashion to disseminate the intentions and wishes of our rulers. The fact that the paper also publishes some excellent reporting -- and can even, on occasion, assume an adversarial stance against one faction of the elite or another -- in no way undermines its essential function in the imperial power structure. After all, Pravda and Izvestia did the same under the Soviets.

[Of course, the dead hand of state censorship was heavier under the Soviets than in our ultra-modern, low-carb authoritarian system. We prefer witless diversion over outright repression, tasers over bullets, and the eager self-censorship of cozy, coddled media dullards over direct intervention by government functionaries -- although, to be sure, if repression, bullets and direct intervention (along with KGB-style torture, rendition, detention without trial, etc.) are deemed necessary, our elites are more than willing to oblige.]

But despite the glaring transparency of the NYT's stovepiping duties, it is still instructive to watch these operations in action now and then, if only to keep one's bullshit detector in fighting trim. And a story by Thom Shanker highlighted in the Times on Saturday provides an excellent example of this venerable and pernicious process.

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Major attacks in Iraq so far this year

Major attacks in Iraq since Jan. 1, when a new U.S.-Iraqi security pact took effect:
_ March 7 — Suicide bomber strikes police academy in Baghdad, killing about 30.
_ March 5 — Car bomb tears through livestock market in Hillah, killing 13.
_ Feb. 13 — Female suicide bomber targets Shiite pilgrims in Musayyib, killing 40.
_ Feb. 12 — Suicide bomber blows herself up among Shiite pilgrims in Karbala, killing eight.
_ Feb. 11 — Twin car bombs explode at a bus terminal and market area in Baghdad, killing 16.
_ Jan. 4 — Female suicide bomber strikes Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing 38.
_ Jan. 2 — Suicide bomber hits luncheon at a tribal leader's home in Youssifiyah, killing 23.
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U.S. Withdrawing 12,000 Troops From Iraq

YESSSSSSSSSSS, it's about time!!!!...

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

NPR.org, March 8, 2009 · The U.S. military in Baghdad has announced it will be withdrawing 12,000 American troops in the next six months.

In a statement, the U.S. military said that two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence will not be replaced.

That would reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq — currently around 140,000 — by around 12,000. A U.S. combat brigade typically has 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers.

The announcement is an initial step in President Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq by August 2010. Beyond this drawdown, U.S. troop strength is not expected to be significantly reduced this year.

Iraq still has to conduct crucial national elections at the end of the year. And while violence is dramatically down, there are still daily attacks — a suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday outside Baghdad's main police academy, killing and wounding dozens.

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US Military: Hundreds Registered as Conscientious Objectors

By Jane O'Brien BBC News, Washington
Hundreds of US armed forces personnel have applied for conscientious objector status since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 - and military rights campaigners say the number is growing.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that 425 servicemen and women made applications for CO (conscientious objector) status between 2002 and 2006.
Of these, 224 were approved but Bill Galvin of Washington's Center on Conscience and War says the real number of applications is far higher because many are not recorded.
"Nobody knows exactly how many applications there have been because people apply at the local level and statistics are only kept on the cases that actually make it to the national level. The real number is a lot higher.
"We also know that many people are conscientious objectors and find some other way to get out. They never apply for CO status because it's not the easiest way.
"Some of them go AWOL, some can prove medical reasons or some may challenge their enlistment agreements. So when people come to us we help them explore all their options."
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Israeli Marksmen Shoot Directly at Civilians and Cameraman

Israeli soldiers filmed shooting at farmers and human rights observers in the Gaza Strip. It appears that the soldiers are shooting to maim or kill despite the obvious presence of international witnesses and cameramen. The bullets pepper the ground, and hiss through the air - at times within 1 metre of the camerman.



24th February 2009

Khoza'a, Khan Younis , Gaza Strip: Palestinian farmers, accompanied by international Human Rights Workers (HRWs), were fired upon by Israeli forces in the village of Khozaa, near Khan Younis, this morning. The farmers and HRWs were attempting to work on land around 300m from the Green Line.

Since the 18th January 2009, in the area next to the Green Line known as the "Buffer Zone", eight Palestinian civilians have been shot by Israeli troops. Three of them have been killed - including one child.

18th January 2009

At approximately 10:40, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were checking their homes and agricultural land following the declaration of the ceasefire. As a result, Maher 'Abdul 'Azim Abu Rjaila, 23, was killed by a gunshot to the chest and shrapnel to the limbs. 20th January 2009 At approximately 13:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, opened fired at Palestinian houses in al-Qarara village. As a result, Waleed 'Abdul Rahim al-Astal, 42, was wounded by a gunshot to the right foot.

23rd January 2009

At approximately 01:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were checking the destruction of their houses in Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, Nabeel Ibrahim al-Najjar, 40, was wounded by shrapnel from a gunshot to the left hand.

25th January 2009

At approximately 16:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at houses and streets in Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, Subhi Tafesh Qudaih, 55, was wounded by a gunshot to the back.

27th January 2009

At approximately 10:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers who were farming agricultural land belonging to the Abu Daqqa clan, nearly 600 meters away from the border. The farmers lay down to avoid being shot. When the shooting stopped, the farmer stood up to leave the area, but IOF troops opened fire at them. One of them, 26-year-old Anwar Zayed al-Buraim, was killed by a gunshot to the neck.

14th February 2009

On 14 February, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child while he was herding animals in the east of Jabalia town in the northern Gaza StripAt approximately 12:00, the body of Hammad Barrak Salem Silmiya, 13, from al-Qerem area east of Jabalia town in the northern Gaza Strip, was brought to Shifa' Hospital in Gaza City. The child had been shot in the head. According to his family, IOF troops fired at him while he was herding animals in the east of Jabalia town. His body was found at approximately 11:30.

18th February 2009

At approximately 10:30, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, fired at a number of Palestinian farmers and 6 members of the International Solidarity Movement, as they attempted to leave the area having worked on their land for 2 hours in full view of the Israeli forces. As a result, a farmer, 21-year-old Mohammed Rezeq al-Buraim, was wounded by a gunshot to the left foot.

24th February 2009

Later on the sameday that this video was filmed, the Israeli Soldiers shot 17 year old Wafa Al Najar from Khoz'a. Wafa was 70 metres from her home, and and 800 metres from the border fence. were 3 shots, a neighbour who was 900 metres away says they were fired from two army jeeps and he saw a soldier shooting from the top of one. The first two bullets hit the ground beside Wafa. The third destroyed her kneecap, and she collapsed to the ground.

http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/02/2...
http://talestotell.wordpress.com/2009...
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/02/5673
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/of-knees-and-tranquility/

Download Video:https://rcpt.yousendit.com/657421006/...

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Updated*** Iraq plan: Most troops out by August 2010

By DAVID S. CLOUD - President Barack Obama campaigned on a pledge to end U.S. involvement in Iraq, but he always threw in the caveat that he wanted to consult with military commanders before making a final decision.

As he prepares to outline his withdrawal plan Friday in a speech to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he has slightly modified his campaign plan for removing U.S. forces to allay concerns among commanders that fragile security gains in Iraq could be jeopardized unless the drawdown plans are handled carefully.

But the plan Obama will outline does not back away in major ways from his pledge to withdraw U.S. combat forces. Instead of a 16-month withdrawal period, as he originally called for, most of the troops now in Iraq would be withdrawn over the next 19 months, leaving by August 2010, senior officials said.

Even under this slightly delayed timetable, the Pentagon would bring at least 92,000 troops home over the next year and a half, a massive exodus that is likely to satisfy most Americans that he is fulfilling his promise to bring the war to a close, even if some top Democrats say it's not enough.

The remaining U.S. forces— totaling between 35,000 and 50,000 —would have a scaled-down mission focused on advising Iraqi forces, protecting civilian reconstruction projects and carrying out counter-terrorism operations.

Senior administration officials emphasized that Obama is determined to remove all U.S. troops by the end of the 2011, as called for under an agreement signed by Iraqi and Bush administration officials. At least for now, Obama does not plan on asking Iraqi officials to allow any to remain in the country after that deadline.

If that is carried out, it would end the U.S. military presence in Iraq on a timetable that is far shorter than almost anyone anticipated.

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Update****
It's official...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Official: Pentagon allows coverage of war coffins

The Pentagon lifted its ban Thursday on media coverage of coffins of war victims as they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The coverage must be approved by the victims' families, however.
Advocates of opening the base to coverage say the unmarked coffins make it impossible to identify specific remains.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is to announce the change at a news conference at 2 p.m. ET, the senior official said. He ordered a review after President Obama asked for more information on the long-standing policy.
Though the Defense Department won't confirm it, it is widely accepted that the ban began after the December 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, which deposed dictator Manuel Noriega.
After a news conference held by President George H.W. Bush, his press secretary made a humorous comment, causing the president and reporters to laugh.
At the same time, viewers were watching coffins of the first casualties from the invasion being unloaded at Dover.

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Will Obama Convince Allies to Help Out in Afghanistan?

As the debate plays out about whether President Obama's decision to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan will help ease the increase in Taliban insurgency, the president is reaching out to allies for help.The public opinion support for military involvement in Afghanistan in both Europe & Canada is low.

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Canada has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, but Parliament has voted to pull them out by 2011. Obama suggested he will take up the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper when the two meet Thursday in Ottawa.
That may be why Obama is reaching out to Canada to help ease the burden on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, who may remain there as long as five years, according to Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
"This is not a temporary force uplift," McKiernan told reporters. "It will need to be sustained for some period of time, for the next three to four to five years."
Extra forces could stay in Afghanistan 5 years
Obama: Troops alone cannot win in Afghanistan
Afghanistan to help review U.S. war on terror
CNN security analyst Peter Bergen said the United States shouldn't necessarily count on NATO countries to lend a hand.
"I think it's probably not very realistic. ... We've constantly asked our NATO allies ... for more soldiers on the ground. Very few NATO countries are going to be willing to send their soldiers into harm's way," he said

Operation Uptick: Obama Launches Afghan Surge | Chris Floyd

Chris Floyd delivers the ugly truth once more...

And so it begins: the great Obama "surge" in Afghanistan. Before withdrawing a single soldier from Iraq, Barack Obama is throwing 17,500 more troops into the boiling Afghan cauldron. The deployment is the first installment of what Obama aides affirm could be a much larger escalation down the road: as soon as the vaunted "strategic review" of Afghan policy – led by hawks like Joe Biden, Richard Holbrook and General David "Pre-President" Petraeus – is completed.

Most of the new troops are apparently going to be sent on a fool's errand to eradicate the only means of support of poor Afghans: the opium crop. Previous such efforts by American forces and their allies have produced nothing but more poverty, anger, extremism and support for the insurgency. And whatever the mission, increased troop levels and military action have led invariably to steep rises in civilian casualties – which, in turn, produce more poverty, anger, extremism and support for the insurgency.

In fact, on the very day that Obama was announcing his own personal Terror War surge, the UN released a report that confirmed the already obvious fact that the American-led occupiers of Afghanistan have been lying about the number of civilians they have been killing. The UN report documents the killing of 2,118 Afghan civilians in 2008 – 828 of them killed by the American-led forces. As Jason Ditz notes at Antiwar.com:

While getting exact numbers of deaths in Afghanistan is virtually impossible given the chaotic situation on the ground, particularly in the restive south, the report once again points to the absurdity of last month’s NATO report, which claimed only 973 civilians overall killed and only 97 by international forces.

The NATO number is absurd indeed, especially when one recalls that some 90 civilians, including at least 75 women and children, were killed in a single attack by an American gunship in the village of Azizabad last summer. [For more, see Atrocity in Azizabad: More Child Sacrifices on the Terror War Altar.]

There will of course be much more of this as the troop levels rise, especially more "close air support" for the increased number of ground forces undertaking more and more attacks. Even the witless, plagarizing, credit-card bagman that Obama put one heartbeat away from the presidency, Joe Biden, admits there will be what he calls – in the hideous argot of our bipartisan Beltway bloodletters – an "uptick" in the number of deaths. Naturally, he was referring only to an increase in American casualties; the Afghans who will also die in increasing numbers in the surge don't count, and aren't counted: 97, 150, 300, 828 – who gives a damn?

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