Obama promises US “bugging out” amidst increasing violence

@Skookum: Mata, can we respect or trust Patraeus now that he is wiling to carry water for Obama rather than his troops. He has become a politician in a uniform, perfectly willing to sell out America to help cover for Obama’s pathetic efforts to get reelected.

Skook, I have to respect an officer who, even tho in disagreement, still honors the chain of command and recognizes that rogue officers, usurping a CiC – even the laughingstock joke of one like this – is not okay.

Perhaps Petraeus remembers the lessons of McChrystal, publicly mocking Obama in the Rolling Stone interview. Or maybe Petraeus feels he can best protect the troops if he holds his NATO position. I don’t know.

Certainly he could resign. Then the Zero would replace him either a puppet who says what he wants to hear for his political advantage, or he can find yet another general who’s advice he will also ignore.

Bottom line, I don’t blame Petraeus. I’m glad he spoke out the first time, but I’m not surprised that he changed his song a day later as a general beholden to carrying out a CiC’s wishes… however stupid. It is the job of any subordinate to carry out orders from above. A break down in the chain of command, save under the most extreme of circumstances, is not acceptable.

@JUSME, thank you for that fine example of leftist “drivel”. Just chock full of substantive data and facts, aren’t you? What a little bundle of hostile emotions you are.

@Jusme: Your assertion that turning over control to NATO caused the deterioration is opinion only and not fact. Had the Insurgency campaign never been allowed to take hold it the war would have been over and done with. But no. It just was not a priority for the last Administration.

Little is more frustrating than armchair generals and unmitigated ignorance, eh? You use any form of insurgent attacks as some bizarre reasoning that both the coalition troops and the Afghans were not making progress?

Yet it was only in 2006, after NATO take over, that progress stopped, and notably reversed. And that is fully three years after OIF in Iraq. The more reasonable logic, instead of the rabid mentality, would easily deduce that relaxed ROEs and NATO leadership was the overwhelming factor in the deterioration of events on the ground.

You should pay attention to that radiator… lots of hot air deserves lots more hot air.

@Jusme, were you to have a clue, you’d know that NATO’s entire take over of security in Afghanistan, as of July 31, 2006, happened in stages. Direct from NATO’s own site, documenting the NATO mission in stages:

NATO takes on ISAF command
On 11 August 2003 NATO assumed leadership of the ISAF operation, turning the six-month national rotations to an end. The Alliance became responsible for the command, coordination and planning of the force, including the provision of a force commander and headquarters on the ground in Afghanistan.

This new leadership overcame the problem of a continual search to find new nations to lead the mission and the difficulties of setting up a new headquarters every six months in a complex environment. A continuing NATO headquarters also enables small countries, less likely to take over leadership responsibility, to play a strong role within a multinational headquarters.

Expansion of ISAF’s presence in Afghanistan
ISAF’s mandate was initially limited to providing security in and around Kabul. In October 2003, the United Nations extended ISAF’s mandate to cover the whole of Afghanistan (UNSCR 1510), paving the way for an expansion of the mission across the country.

Stage 1: to the northIn December 2003, the North Atlantic Council authorised the Supreme Allied Commander, General James Jones, to initiate the expansion of ISAF by taking over command of the German-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kunduz. The other eight PRTs operating in Afghanistan in 2003 remained under the command of Operation Enduring Freedom, the continuing US-led military operation in Afghanistan.

On 31 December 2003, the military component of the Kunduz PRT was placed under ISAF command as a pilot project and first step in the expansion of the mission.

Six months later, on 28 June 2004, at the Summit meeting of the NATO Heads of State and Government in Istanbul, NATO announced that it would establish four other provincial reconstruction teams in the north of the country: in Mazar-e-Sharif, Meymana, Feyzabad and Baghlan.

This process was completed on 1 October 2004, marking the completion of the first phase of ISAF’s expansion. ISAF’s area of operations then covered some 3,600 square kilometres in the north and the mission was able to influence security in nine Northern provinces of the country.

Stage 2: to the westOn 10 February 2005, NATO announced that ISAF would be further expanded, into the west of Afghanistan.

This process began on 31 May 2006, when ISAF took on command of two additional PRTs, in the provinces of Herat and Farah and of a Forward Support Base (a logistic base) in Herat.

At the beginning of September, two further ISAF-led PRTs in the west became operational, one in Chaghcharan, capital of Ghor province, and one in Qala-e-Naw, capital of Baghdis province, completing ISAF’s expansion into the west.

The extended ISAF mission led a total of nine PRTs, in the north and the west, providing security assistance in 50% of Afghanistan’s territory. The Alliance continued to make preparations to further expand ISAF, to the south of the country.

In September 2005, the Alliance also temporarily deployed 2,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to support the 18 September provincial and parliamentary elections.

Stage 3: to the southOn 8 December 2005, meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Allied Foreign Ministers endorsed a plan that paved the way for an expanded ISAF role and presence in Afghanistan.

The first element of this plan was the expansion of ISAF to the south in 2006, also known as Stage 3.

This was implemented on 31 July 2006, when ISAF assumed command of the southern region of Afghanistan from US-led Coalition forces, expanding its area of operations to cover an additional six provinces – Day Kundi, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul – and taking on command of four additional PRTs.

The expanded ISAF led a total of 13 PRTs in the north, west and south, covering some three-quarters of Afghanistan’s territory.

The number of ISAF forces in the country also increased significantly, from about 10,000 prior to the expansion to about 20,000 after.

Stage 4: ISAF expands to the east, takes responsibility for entire countryOn 5 October 2006, ISAF implemented the final stage of its expansion, by taking on command of the international military forces in eastern Afghanistan from the US-led Coalition.

In addition to expanding the Alliance’s area of operations, the revised operational plan also paved the way for a greater ISAF role in the country. This includes the deployment of ISAF OMLTs to Afghan National Army units at various levels of command.

Every place that NATO took the lead starting deteriorating until the whole place was shot to hell after their full command of the nation’s (non) security.

Enjoy yourself. Maybe you should stick to radiator work…