Afghanistan is lost, says Lord Ashdown
By Tom Coghlan
Last Updated: 12:14AM GMT 29/10/2007
Nato has "lost in Afghanistan" and its failure to bring stability there could provoke a regional sectarian war "on a grand scale", according to Lord Ashdown.

Frontline: Reports from our correspondents in the war zones






A Taliban fighter in Afghanistan’s south



The former United Nations High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered his dire prediction after being proposed as a new "super envoy" role in Afghanistan.

Lord Ashdown said: "We have lost, I think, and success is now unlikely."

The assessment will be considered extreme by some diplomats but timely by those pressing for more resources for Nato operations.

Lord Ashdown added: "I believe losing in Afghanistan is worse than losing in Iraq. It will mean that Pakistan will fall and it will have serious implications internally for the security of our own countries and will instigate a wider Shiite [Shia], Sunni regional war on a grand scale.

"Some people refer to the First and Second World Wars as European civil wars and I think a similar regional civil war could be initiated by this [failure] to match this magnitude."

Lord Ashdown, 66, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, was speaking in advance of a Nato summit in the Dutch town of Noordwijk yesterday.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567303/Afghanis...ys-Lord-Ashdown.html

LOL Not according to 24 MEU

quote:

Originally posted by galloglas:
LOL Not according to 24 MEU

oh hell yea the Marines will (have) gone in there and kick butt and took no names...

Its not really a question of "winning" ..more like how much money and blood does the U.S. spend to change the political direction of the Middle East...recent history shows that Asia goes its own way...China was "lost" Vietnam was "lost"...hell even the Philippines was "lost"...as in they ended up throwing us out!!! But the sun still shines every day and most Americans still dream of a better future. Afgans and Iraqis well decide the future of their countries and one thing seems pretty clear that like the other nations of Asia..the decision will be on their terms ..not ours!!
P.S. why in the hell is Pres. Bush calling for Turkey to be admitted into the E.U.!! Its really not his concern..He's not a Euro and most Europeans don't want another Moslem country in their union...its bad enuff that Albania will have two states!!!

quote:

most Europeans don't want another Moslem country in their union

True...why go the acquisition route when you're growing just fine organically.

quote:

and most Europeans don't want another Moslem country in their union

Turkey isn't going to be an EU member, basically because it refuses to follow all the criteria to join. As far as Europe having moslem nations, the only one that might fit the bill is Albania, but these are usually considered "bad moslems" by other moslem nations like Saudi arabia, kuwait and others. Not only that but their population is not 100% moslem, its around 85% and of those, most of them are non practicing moslems. The real problem is Kosovo, which has become an islamic fundamentalist training grounds (amazing, since bondsteel is also there) and terrorist cash supply via the black market/heroin trafficking and prostitution rings. Obviously, that situation is FAR from being over.

"Theys got Names?"
who'ed a thunk!

Obviously the Anti-American bias is working again. It seems funny to me that we report these dire warnings but at the end of the year when we tally it up the much ballyhooed gains of the Taliban end up just being more of them dead. And now the Marines are there and the Army is looking to send more as well. That does not bode well for the Taliban. Does anyone else find it coincidental that as it begins to calm in Iraq it get louder in Afghanistan? No Fantaros, the Taliban will just do what it has done recently, cause some trouble and when they try and fight they die.

quote:

Originally posted by SSGSwartz:
Obviously the Anti-American bias is working again. It seems funny to me that we report these dire warnings but at the end of the year when we tally it up the much ballyhooed gains of the Taliban end up just being more of them dead. And now the Marines are there and the Army is looking to send more as well. That does not bode well for the Taliban. Does anyone else find it coincidental that as it begins to calm in Iraq it get louder in Afghanistan? No Fantaros, the Taliban will just do what it has done recently, cause some trouble and when they try and fight they die.

Afghanistan will be the islamic fundamentalist's Battle of the Bulge! And, like the Germans, they will loose! It's just going to take longer, because we aren't fighting uniformed divisions.

Any news back on helmand yet. i hope the SAS and air force are kicking ass!
Max
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