Pentagon to Get "Tough" On Taliban
Afghanistan War Front Needs Fresh Ideas
President Obama released plans to increase troop levels in Afghanistan by some 60,000 by the end of the year. This comes as the Commander of NATO Forces, General David McKieman was fired and replaced by General McChrstal and is very similar to what occured just before the troop surge of 2007 in Iraq. General George Casey had been relieved of his command in Iraq, and he was replaced by General David Petraeus right before the infamous troop surge that put down the violence in Iraq.
After the Commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, was fired by the Defense Secretary Robert Gates, both the White House and the Pentagon indicated they are looking for fresh ideas in the increasingly tough Afghanistan war front.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, had confirmed ...
....General McKiernan would be moving before the usual tour of duty time period was up, which could have been up to 2 years. At a Pentagon press conference, Secretary Gates said that he was asking for the resignation of General McKiernan after consulting President Obama on the matter. From the Pentagon Press Briefing:
“This is the right time to make the change, at a time when we are at the beginning of the implementation of a new strategy. The focus here is simply on getting fresh thinking, fresh eyes on the problem, and in how we implement the strategy and the mission going forward.”
General David McKiernan had complained the number of troops in Afghanistan had not been enough even after the increase due later this year, would still be 2 battalions short to break what he had described as a “stalemate” with the Taleban.
