Robets Gates: We're never going to leave Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Commitment in Afghanistan stressed
Published: June 9, 2010 at 1:15 AM

LONDON, June 9 (UPI) -- The United States will not abandon Afghanistan and Britain will stay there until there is stability, the two allies' defense secretaries said.

The assurances were given at a news conference Tuesday in London by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gats and Britain's Liam Fox after their meeting, the U.S. Defense Department Web site reported.

Gates said Washington is committed to success in Afghanistan and will not abandon Afghanistan as it did after the Soviet Union was driven out of the country in 1989, the report said.

"I think one of the important messages that we tried to communicate during (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai's (recent) visit to Washington -- and that I think is important for all of us to communicate -- is that we intend, as an alliance and as a large group of nations, to be Afghanistan's partner for a very long time into the future," he said.

Gates said that relationship will be seen beginning next summer, with fewer U.S. forces and more civilian efforts centered on development and building Afghanistan's economy.



unhappycamper comment: I know Gates is not stupid. It may be a case of simple hubris or he may be one of the cheneyites left behind.

In any case, 'winning' in Afghanistan is getting out of Afghanistan.

[ixion]

1. We will leave when either one of two things happen:

a) We go broke, like the Soviet Union did when they packed up and left.

b) We leave because Afghanistan has ceased to be a profitable venture for the MIC and/or Big Oil, etc.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Oh yes we are

we cannot afford to prop up every country. Enough of these pipelines.

[CanonRay]

3. Hell, we still haven't left the Phillipines

only been about 120 years or so.

[City Lights]

4. Swell. That's just swell.

x(