I need more men and weapons to defeat Taleban,

[spindrifter]

says Nato general

By Michael Evans, Defence Editor, and Timothy Albone in Kandahar
The Times September 08, 2006

MORE troops, more helicopters, more transport aircraft: the shopping list of reinforcements for the increasingly beleaguered Nato mission in Afghanistan was spelt out yesterday by the alliance’s top military commander.

After a visit to Kabul to be briefed on Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) campaign, General James Jones, the American Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, took the unusual step of voicing in public his dismay that the 26-nation alliance had failed to provide the troops and equipment needed for such a dangerous mission.

Urging Nato members to come forward with reinforcements, General Jones said the next few weeks could be decisive in the fight against the insurgents. “We could do with more of anything we can get,” one senior Nato official said.

Military sources in Kabul said that Nato commanders were hamstrung because there were not enough combat troops, and no flexibility to allow Lieutenant-General David Richards, the British head of Isaf, to form a mobile reserve force that could be flown into any troublespot. In previous campaigns, such as Kosovo, a reserve force was available.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2348173,00.html

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Too little too late: BushCo set the example for how to exacerbate an exasperating situation, and the others are following through with it.