Pentagon: Afghanistan Military Strategy Unsuccessful
WASHINGTON — Improved security in Iraq will give the U.S. military flexibility to do more in Afghanistan in coming months, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress Wednesday, after years of setting a lower priority for the Afghan fight.
But even as Gates hinted at possible further troop cuts in Iraq, he said a go-slow approach is justified by several worrisome circumstances, including slow progress on the political front.
"I worry that the great progress our troops and the Iraqis have made has the potential to override a measure of caution born of uncertainty," Gates told the House Armed Services Committee. "Our military commanders do not yet believe our gains are necessarily enduring _ and they believe that there are still many challenges and the potential for reversals in the future."
Gates also warned that "we should expect to be involved in Iraq for years to come, although in changing and increasingly limited ways."
But even as Gates hinted at possible further troop cuts in Iraq, he said a go-slow approach is justified by several worrisome circumstances, including slow progress on the political front.
"I worry that the great progress our troops and the Iraqis have made has the potential to override a measure of caution born of uncertainty," Gates told the House Armed Services Committee. "Our military commanders do not yet believe our gains are necessarily enduring _ and they believe that there are still many challenges and the potential for reversals in the future."
Gates also warned that "we should expect to be involved in Iraq for years to come, although in changing and increasingly limited ways."
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 6:04 PM
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