Posted by
Dawnsblood on Sunday, October 01, 2006 4:16:27 PM
It seems as though a deal has been brokered to place a majority of our troops in Afghanistan under NATO command and control.
America’s direct control of military
operations in Afghanistan will dwindle to a single air base within days
as the NATO alliance assumes a nationwide command that places 12,000
more U.S. troops under its authority, a spokesman for the alliance said
Sunday.The
expansion will consolidate military command under top NATO leader
British Lt. Gen. David Richards and phase out the role of U.S. Lt. Gen.
Karl Eikenberry, whose troops will be transferred to NATO, said Mark
Laity, an alliance spokesman in Kabul.
Of
40,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, only 8,000 U.S. troops will
function outside NATO control: those tracking al-Qaida terrorists or
involved in air operations, Laity said. The overall level of American
forces will remain around 20,000.
This makes me a bit nervous to be honest. This is to the best of my knowledge, the first time in history NATO has been involved in a heavy ground combat situation. Granted, Nato was designed with a major ground war with the Warsaw Pact in mind, but that never materialized. My second misgiving is the training level of the troops involved. Oakleaf at Polipundit speaks well an this point here and here. Lastly there seems to be a lack of will in many NATO countries.
Don't get me wrong. This is still winnable. Eradicate the poppies to steal the Taliban's biggest source of funding, declare all of Waziristan a hot pursuit zone and inject some backbone into the Alliance.That I think would do it. My hope is that this deal can solve the backbone problem. I continue have my doubts that we will fulfill the other two.