American Morning
U.S. 'not leaving Afghanistan,' Gates says
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a rare joint interview, said Monday that the United States is committed to a regional strategy to build long-standing relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/10/05/clinton.gates/art.clinton.gates.cnn.jpg caption="Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour."]
Speaking at George Washington University for a program to be broadcast Tuesday on CNN, the two members of President Obama's Cabinet insisted that the president's deliberate approach to set the right objectives and policies for Afghanistan was necessary and proper.
The Taliban insurgency currently has the momentum in Afghanistan, Gates said, adding that a Taliban takeover of the country would empower the al Qaeda terrorist network.
"Because of our inability and the inability, frankly, of our allies to put enough troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban do have the momentum right now," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour and former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno in the panel discussion that included Clinton.
An eventual Taliban victory would provide "added space" for al Qaeda to set up in the country and enhance recruiting and fundraising, bolstered by the perspective of a second victory over a superpower by Muslim forces after having driven out the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Gates said.
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@ "john October 6th, 2009 7:18 am ET
I think the time has come to let the people of the middle east deal with there own problems and the usa needs to start solving its own problems, we want to be the worlds super hero while this country is falling apart"
I agree with you 100%. These countries have been at war with each other for centuries. Nothing the USA is doing will make a difference. WHY hasn't the USA found Bin Laden? What is the USA's objective being in Afganistan? Let them fight their own battles...
I am waiting for our President's statement. IF Gates comment doesn't match President Obama's then he should be fired! IF they are all on the same sheet of music, and we are not leaving then lets not play around anymore! McChrystal wants 40-45k more troops. Send in 100k, let them "do their job" and DESTROY the enemy. If they flee into Pakistan & they won't let us come in then we should suspend everything we give them.
You know this is a Democracy, what we need to do is set up an "American Idol" type voting method and "let the People speak"
These guys, military leaders, the president, congress and the senate.
They work for us, let the majority speak. What ever the vote would turn out to be, that would be the strategy followed. Seems simple to me.
Oh I forgot, we cannot do anything the easy way.
Afghanistan having a normal and peaceful future???????? Aint' happened in over 2000 years, what the hell makes you think we can make it happen now? Short of destroying it even beyond the stone age conditions that exist there today and wiping out the vast majority of the population and repopulating with a different culture, it will NEVER change. Get out now and get off oil. No more blood and treasure to protect profits for exxon, bp, and haliburton et al.............
I think we should take out all of our troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan and let their forces fight the terrorists and insurgents. Then when they need our help send in our jet fighters, helicopter gunships, missiles and drones to wipe out these terrorists and insurgents when they begin to come out of the woodwork and take control of any part of Iraq and Afghanistan.
War is like monopoly, you haven't won until your house(flag) is all over the board.
25 years later and it is finally here to stay.......WAR IS PEACE
I guess if Gates says were not leaving Afganastan President Obama has nothing to say about it.To bad because Gates sounds like Wesmoreland during the Vietnam era,both men making sure the defense industry doesn't go broke.Goofs!!!!!!!!!!
Two points....
Through all of the reporting and theories on strategy for Afghanistan....
Why isn't anyone mentioning about getting other countries sending in more troops,,,why is it just America that needs to increase troops?
The situation in Afghanistan effects and involves the rest of the world, not just the US..
Secondly....where it has been stated repeatedly, the need to eradicate the Taliban is not necessary...how is it not? Are they really that different from Al quieda?Are they not a major reason and casue of the mess and caos ? At least twice in recent Afghan history they have come back and reeked havoc,...and are direct cause for nato, american troops and civilian casualties.! So the Taliban, along with Al Queida needs to be completely destroyed if Afghanistan is to have any type of normal and peacefull future!
Liz
After 8 years in afghanistan gates wants to stay. Where are the afghanistan forces. The mission was to remove the taliban government and appoint our boy karzai. That has been done. Lets leave now. The 9/11 hijackers were from sauidi arabia the taliban did not fly any planes into the twin towers. What stupidity. We need to protect the homeland and our borders. What we don't need to do is spend the next 100 years in iraq and afghanistan.
I wish someone could clearly explain the reason why we are still in Afghanistan. Bin Laden is not there. So the original mission is no longer valid. Other countries have tried in the past to overpower this area and have walked away in shame. So you put down the Taliban and help install a stable government. What will it cost the American people in lives and cash, to do that and then what will it cost in the years ahead to maintain it? I think most folks here in the USA would prefer our tax dollars be used to solve our problems here. Might as well dig a hole in the ground and bury the money.
The reason these people hate westerners so much is for one simple fact, THEY DONT WANT US ON THEIR LAND! How much of this does the American government not understand? If we developed alternative fuels we would have no use for this un-GOD-forsaken place! If they were over here in military uniforms killing our citizens I`m sure we would fight back with whatever we had to get rid of these people! Save countless number of lives and huge amounts of treasure, treasure we could be using for our own! Our government has no right fighting on foriegn land to secure things like oil for the private sector to benefit from! If all U.S. citizens were to benefit from the wealth of this oil equally then they might have an ligitimate arguement as to why we are there! No one army has ever invaded this region and succeeded in taking over, ITAINT GONNA HAPEN. Question we must ask, which family is next? Which family is giong to get a house call from the government telling them their son or daughter has been killed for nothing?
Good morning brothers and sisters
Like most of us I too would like there to be no more war, for peace to exist for all; but reality is we are at war. As a veteran even in peacetime we practice for what may come-thats what a military does. We should pray for our president daily, Im certain he would perfer not to be at war, too. His job, one not many could do; is to keep this country safe. While we sleep our president and the military protect. So we should support.
People have forgotten about the poppi cultivation, more particularly the Opium trade that is the underlying reason for Ensuring that there is always a presence in Afghanistan. This drug generates a HUGE amount of money, and then perpetuates terrorism through out the world.
We either control the drug trade or eradicate conditions that cultivate this environment. The whole world needs to remind themselves of this money that is being used for the next hit.
I think the time has come to let the people of the middle east deal with there own problems and the usa needs to start solving its own problems, we want to be the worlds super hero while this country is falling apart
This is the "right" war if there is such a horrible term. It was the Taliban and Al Queda that attacked us on 9/11. Maybe if Cindy Sheehan lost her son in the World Trade Center her attitude would be different. I think she just wants to extend her 15 minutes. Before it was Iraq, now it's Afghanistan. Maybe next she'll go to the border states and fight the war on illegal immigration!