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Subscribe to RSSDefense Secretary Leon Panetta reaffirmed Tuesday the Obama administration’s determination to persist in seeking a stable government in Afghanistan after the murder of two U.S. military officers by an Afghan soldier inside the Interior Ministry building in Kabul.
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
'The reason we are there, senator, is because our mission is to dismantle, destroy, and defeat al Qaida and their terrorist allies,' Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.
The weekend murders were the latest in a wave of “fratricide” attacks by Afghan soldiers and policemen on American soldiers in Afghanistan.
At a Senate Budget Committee hearing Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., asked Panetta, “When it comes to Afghanistan … is it worth it? What is winning? What’s the benefit of winning? What’s the cost of losing?”
See related: Panetta applauds Karzai statement on peace talks
“The reason we are there, senator, is because our mission is to dismantle, destroy, and defeat al Qaida and their terrorist allies,” Panetta said. “Our ultimate goal here has to be an Afghanistan that can control and secure itself and make sure that it can never again become a safe haven where terrorists can plan attacks,”.
He added that “the cost of losing” is that the Taliban would regain control of Afghanistan and that terrorist groups would regroup there “and their sole goal is to attack this country.”
No senators asked Panetta whether the fratricide attacks call into question the Obama administration’s strategy of training Afghan military forces so that they can take responsibility for keeping order in the country once most U.S. forces are withdrawn in 2014, as Obama has promised.
Separately, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich., told reporters Tuesday that if there’s no repeat of the inadvertent burning of Korans in Afghanistan -- which may have triggered the murders of the two Americans -- then “we will not see a repeat of this kind of violence. I don’t believe the Afghan people want us to leave. I don’t think that most of the Afghan army or police are willing to attack us, or want to attack us any way. I think it’s a very small minority.”
What’s more important, Levin said, is that “the Afghan police and army are the ones who are putting down the violence” -- the riots and demonstrations which followed the Koran burning.
With one exception, other members of the Armed Services Committee said they were worried about the weekend attack and the pattern of fratricide incidents, but didn’t indicate they’d support a quicker drawdown of American forces or an earlier exit date.
Sen. Kay Hagan, D- N.C., said, “It certainly raises a huge issue if people that we are helping and entrusting then kill our own soldiers.”
Sen. Jack Reed, D- R.I., said Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his cabinet needed to block infiltration and to prevent fratricide attacks. They now face “a test of their commitment to partnering with NATO” and a chance to “to demonstrate their seriousness” about taking steps to stop fratricide attacks.
He said, ”You want to be very careful and deliberate in this process, but I think it raises a significant issue of the willingness and capacity of the Afghani forces to partner with us.” But he said the “trajectory has already been set” by President Obama for exit of U.S. forces in 2014.
The certainty of that exit date probably defuses the opposition to the Afghanistan deployment among some members of Congress.
Calling the weekend killings “horrible” and saying American forces would need to be “much more vigorous in vetting our partners,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R- N.H., said she did not think the weekend’s events should lead to a change in American strategy.
“We still have a very important interest in Afghanistan,” she said, “We cannot allow Afghanistan to become a launching pad and a haven for terrorism again. And if we suddenly withdraw from Afghanistan based on these events, we will actually empower those who are committing these acts of terrorism right now in Afghanistan and further encourage additional acts of terrorism.”
But another Armed Services Committee member, Democratic dissenter Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, said the murder of the U.S. officers “reinforces what I have always said: that’s an extremely dangerous place. I don’t believe we should be there trying to nation build, trying to change the culture of people – we shouldn’t, and I don’t think we can do that.”
He added, “We should get out of there immediately and leave no doubt that we will go after terrorism wherever it may be. Everyone says, ‘when you leave, they will all come back.’ Well, if they come back with intent to do us harm, we’ll be back.”
But he said he didn’t want to put “our sons and daughters in a situation where the people they trained are going to be turning their guns on them. It’s ridiculous.”
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Get out now.
Mr. pinata,
Why are we still committed to Afghanistan? We are NOT going to accomplish anything more if we stay there until 2014+. Let's cut our loses and GET OUT NOW.
Dear USA government; why not commit to Americans first?
Why commit to terrorists while your own are paying $5.00 in gas, dwindling pay checks, foreclosures, no jobs, high costs of living, high taxes, layoffs....
Bring our troops home and end this stupid war!!! We are tired of paying for wars and taking care of tards all over the world!
How much does the defense department use for stupid wars yearly? Like $20 Billion?
Do you know what you could do with that kinda dough folks? You could make this country the greatest on Earth, like it used to be!!!!!!!!!!! Man!
c'mon folks, dont let me get my shoe
@Doc Holiday,
Your numbers are a little low. The US Military Budget for 2010 was $683.7 Billion. I'm going to go ahead and write that number out: $683,700,000,000.00.
I have to imagine that Afghanistan, directly or in-directly, accounts for more than 3% of our Military's budget (your $20B number). Whatever the gains over there are, they cannot possibly outweigh the costs.
Why are we there now? Here is an idea:
We leave Afghanistan, in fact every place predominantly Muslim around the world. Leave it to them.
Our philosophy is simple - you want us to leave you alone - you leave us alone. Don't attack our citizens, don't support those who do.
In return, you are no longer welcome here. Until you treat your women as equals and allow basic human freedoms, anyone from a predominantly Islamic nation [defined by YOU - not us - what you call yourself and how you operate yourself controls] no longer gets a tourist, education or work visa here.
The rules are simple: we shall control our citizens to prevent violence against you and your nation, and you do the same. If your citizens attack us, whether in New York, London, Bali or Jerusalem, we shall retaliate with overwhelming force using special weapons if necessary so that you and your sorry ass country will never be a threat to us again.
This is your one chance. And ours as well. You shall never hear from America again unless it is a very large explosion. Fair enough?
Wake up you freaking liberal morons, we did not go to Afghanistan to rebuild and make a Government a Democracy, we went there to fight terror, mainly the Taliban. Anyone remember that? Now our liberal stupid apologizing President has turned it into nation building which we have no right to do.
Put security up, kill the ones that attack us and get on with killing the terror organizations that helped with 9/11 when over 3000 Americans died.
Either do that you liberal idiots or tell your liberal community organizer to get the heck out of there and let's not lose any more 20 yr old warriors of freedom for the U S that we won't even acknowledge gave their lives for us, yet the liberal press follows and shows the entire funeral of a drugged out stupid singer - Whitney Houston.
What a freaking country, the USA is going down, China will be the Super Power while we worry about Whitney Houston.
Why are we still committed? They dont want us there and we dont want to be there. Let the Chinese have it since they are building mines there and let them deal with the crazy, uneducated muslim populace.
Get out now! We have no reason at all to let our men be killed by these illiterate muslim scum. Bring them home!
and get in Iran and Syria now!
Saudis, oil companies, lobbyists and their puppet politicians are directing: run from Afghanistan without looking back!
Warthurb I'm sorry, I'm no fan of Obama but he didn't start the nation building! I disagree with him apologizing over every little thing but still lets be honest Bush was nation building as well.
I agree with Sen. Joe Manchin's statement very much. Think about this, Pakistan still has terrorist training camps what's to keep them out after we leave? No way the Afghans will be ready for them by 2014 seeing as how Pakistan's military can't even deal with them now. We should have just gone in and taken care of business over about 2-3 years and then just left.
There are safe havens for terrorists already! Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Syria to name a few. Better to get out of Afghanistan and let the Taliban take it over. It would be easier to kill them all once they congregate in Kabul, than to try to get them out of their hiding places in Pakistan.
Ours is a commitment to an unwinable war and military-industrial complex profits - stupidity and criminality galore!
Yep, keep pumping money into Afghanistan (and Iraq) and see who takes control of the country/ies after the dust settles.
Wait a minute....time to sit down and "talk" with those who want a "Democracy". /sarcasm/
It appears to me that Senator Joe Manchin is the only one with any common sense in the Senate. We have no business Nation Building, kill the terrorists, disrupt the corrupt government and leave, let them know that if they cross there will be severe costs but dont try to help these people.
Mr Panetta has lost touch with what American citizens think about that desert rat hole.
Afghanistan's issues are unfixable and are NOT worth the life of one more soldier.
Bring the troops home NOW!
I would agree except that desert rathole was the HQ for planning and orchestrating numerous terrorist attacks including 9/11 (so was Saudi Arabia, but that's another story). Letting Afghanistan fall completely apart again is only going to let the terrorists go right back in and make themselves at home.
Please recall the Bush spent much of the 6.5 years of war under his term ignoring Afghanistan and focusing resources and manpower in Iraq (guess he and his strategists assumed NATO would hold down the fort for us while we gallivanted into another conflict). There's some serious catching up to do because of that negligence.
I think we have the wherewithal to pull Afghanistan into a semi-stable place that could possibly hold itself together so long as Pakistan doesn't crumble and Iraq remains on the road to improvement.
Afghanistan has a great wealth of rare-earth minerals that they could develop into a tidy industry for international trade. If our efforts to help them develop such an industry continues in the positive direction that it's heading, we might be able to get them to embrace commerce instead of radicalism...the trick will be to get their men to drop their weapons and get jobs...no easy feat while industry in that country is largely non-existent.
In 20 years they could be like Turkey if they remain stable. But at this point it's anyone's guess .
woulda-shoulda-coulda
Let's not keep on kidding ourselves and wrapping our military involvement there in the flag, in the name of democracy, or revenge for 9/11, or nation-building. Haliburton et al really want those rare earth minerals, and our government especially does not want Russia and/or China to have them. This fact alone is why we will never be out of Afghanistan, and it is the only real reason why we are there in the first place. AN IDEA CAN NOT BE FOUGHT WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND. Fundamentalist Islam is a set of ideas/thoughts. I say nothing about the merit of those ideas. The only way to get rid of those thoughts/ideas is to kill every brain that has ever held them and/or been spurred to action because of them. This will never happen, so what we are really doing there is occupying the ground until the corporate hegemony of the West can secure rights to the minerals and make money for CEO's/shareholders, and incidentally insure that every person who wants a cell phone, an electric car or solar panels can have them, relatively cheaply. It may be that in the end a sort of prosperity will come to Afghanistan because of the exploitation of the mineral wealth, thereby making the radical Islamist ideas less fervent. However, just look at Africa for an instance, where the mineral wealth has not been shared and social unrest (often in the name of religion) is the name of the game.
Hey Seriously - see my comment above. Solves all the problems.
People forgot how the US troops fled from Saigon in Vietnam!
Why wake up after getting burnt?
Where was the need for these rants, if you people had opposed unnecessary Iraqi wars right in time? Only Afghanistan war was big war!
Those, who could not controll crowds of hardly 2000 Quran burning rioters and about 20000 Islamic militants, are back with their war cries on Iran and Syria!
Look at the posts of those Syria and Iran warmongers!
Seriously, with all due respect, there was no troop reduction in Afghanistan to focus on Iraq.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/06/22/world/asia/american-forces-in-afghanistan-and-iraq.html
The media stopped THEIR focus on Afghanistan, not President Bush.
@ mhrjhn
There was no troop reduction in Afghanistan, but there wasn't a troop surge there like there was in Iraq either.
Yes, media is narrow sighted and biased. But Bush ignored Afghanistan because he did not put anywhere close to the amount of resources and ferocity into it as he did with Iraq
Guess its easy to stay committed to Afghanistan when its not you on the front line or worried about IEDs'. Let Panetta and obama put on the uniform for a tour and see what its like. Dying for people that don't care.
My father served in Vietnam. He draws a number of similarities to this conflict, but he notes one major component that differs and plays to our advantage.
We are not fighting a proxy war against a wealthy, highly industrialized nation in Afghanistan like we were in Vietnam (and Korea).
Our opposition in Afghanistan are guerrilla fighters almost exclusively and while they may be bankrolled by Iran and the ISI in Pakistan; these benefactors aren't about to offer them anything heavier than what they can hoof on their backs through the frontiers, and no additional manpower or training is going to come to them.
The trick to breaking the guerrilla fighters is the same one that the allies had to use after WWII where the SS tried to continue the fight. Bring industry back to the country, pull the government together into something that the people can get behind and support and ensure that that government is not going to just plunge the country back into being another threat to the rest of the world or collapse into itself into some tyrannical regime.
If we can get the Afghans to value their own lives and enrich them with stable employment, the guerrilla-forces' ranks will dwindle quickly, but we can only do that by keeping the country stable long enough for a groundswell of prosperity to deter people from blowing themselves up and actually feeling like they are fighting for something better than what they have.
Phil, Or don't volunteer to go into service.
Those who did like I have, have been doing so since 1973.
We wanted to go.
Please, do not speak for us, we know how to talk.
And we know why we are where we are, (wherever we are).
Seriously..: Lots of unworkable fantasies and theories!
Have they worked well in any Muslim nation for long?
Lets remember that the training ground for the 19 Saudi high-jackers that supposedly committed the 9/11 atrocity was Florida not Afghanistan or Iraq. We haven't even started the war in Florida or Saudi Arabia yet. When will those wars begin? And we just signed another 80 billion dollar weapons sale to the Saudi Kings didn't we. Oh ya, and we never finished the investigation into how those 19 Saudi's got their financing and support either. Oh well it couldn't have been through the CIA anyway, that would be just ridiculous to suggest wouldn't it.
Oh well we needed to rid the world of all those weapons of mass destruction that Saddam had hidden east west north and south of bagdad didn't we.
It's a good thing the Arabs can't read or write because they might take offense of our lies and murderous ways and decide to join the ranks of people that hate America and become terrorist someday. Possibly training in Michigan or California or Washington DC next time. I'm just glad all those Afghani and Iraqi kids won't miss their fathers or brothers we killed. Because that might increase he number of people who hate us exponentially for years to come.
"Bring industry back to the country, pull the government together into something that the people can get behind and support and ensure that that government is not going to just plunge the country back into being another threat to the rest of the world or collapse into itself into some tyrannical regime."
I agree 100% we really need to implement Seriously's suggestion.
Bring agricultural industry back to America, Force the corrupt senators and congress to do what the American public is demanding, So the people can get behind Americas government rather than plunge the country further into disgrace by continuing to be a threat to the rest of the world or collapsing back into another tyrannical regime like the Bush and Cheney administration.
Yes, Turkey, Dubai, Kuwait, etc. Assisting in growing thriving industries and helping people get jobs and establish livelihoods is infinitely more effective than trying to starve and isolate them. Heck, the Saudi's probably wouldn't have been able to recruit their 9/11 hijackers if the US weren't helping to support the despotic regime of the Saudi Royal Family (sure seems like a repeat of the US's support of the Shah of Iran).
@ Ken Waltz-2713097
Frankly I think we needed to attack Saudi Arabia after the attacks on 9/11 considering that's where OBL's funding stemmed from in the first place. Too bad our government supports the Saudi Royal Pigs
That would be nice. BTW, agricultural industry IS in America. America is the breadbasket of the world. What we are losing are technological industries and manufacturing is almost wiped out.
People need to stop voting based purely around what they see on TV and need to stop being so singularly focused on trying to elect politicians that promise to legislate religious ideologies in exchange for not questioning their flawed fiscal policies.
Sadly that's not going to happen any time soon
Seriously...: Better ask some Vietnam veterns, how the US troops were evacuated from Saigon airport.
Even the study of the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq will be a good case study of how the US and allies war machines have miserably failed.
@ Jonathan-1982062
Well I guess time will tell, won't it? Hopefully you are wrong
Seriously..: Time has proved likes of you dead wrong right from Korea days!
I just checked. The South Koreans still have Seoul!
Looks like it wasn't a total failure. ^_^
Senator Joe Manchin made the most intelligent comment regarding Afganistan that I have heard or read. To those of you who have time to post on this thread, you also have time to send your Senators an e-mail expressing your opinion.
Waste of time and money. This may have been a noble experiment but it was clear at least 5 years ago that this was doomed. If we had a functioning government and an honest media this wouldn't even be controversial. This part of the world isn't ready for the 18th century, let alone the 21st.
Obama feels himself too important to visit the troops in afgansturd. He dosent have a problem ordering the Catholic Church to provide birth control. But kisses the Mullahs rear ends if some terrorists comic book gets burned. Bring the boys home, the cause is lost. This country dosent know how to win because we dont use the same playbook. Sun Tzu is good reading for anyone interested in VICTORY!
“The reason we are there, senator, is because our mission is to dismantle, destroy, and defeat al Qaida and their terrorist allies,” Panetta said. “Our ultimate goal here has to be an Afghanistan that can control and secure itself and make sure that it can never again become a safe haven where terrorists can plan attacks,”.
___________________________
this is just another #@$)% B.S excuse. get the hell out now.
Mission accomplished, Bin Laden and most Al-Quada leaders are dead, 9/11 has been avenged, bring our people home to their loved ones !!!!
We are trying to drag a country kicking and screaming into the 21st century that does not want to go and resents us for the effort. The billions being spent would be far better utilized in precision actions on specific targets that constitute a known threat and with substantial savings in lives and treasure.
There is no end game here; only protracted engagements of our forces without quantifiable benefit. It is time to acknowledge the mistake of yet another attempt to shoot an ant wth a canon and bring our valiant, brave servicepeople home.
Get the HELL OUT of Afghanistan you Stupid War Monger!
Here we have a total example of an IDIOT trying to shove his Bull Sh it propaganda on a MANUFACTURED WAR,shoved down people's throats, all for the benefit of other people's INSANE GAINS AND AGENDAS!
Again! GET OUT OF THAT USELESS HELL HOLE!
Gloria, it is a rock, but it is not worthless.
Three major nations have tried to secure this piece of dirt for a forward base to Iran.
We now have the upper hand.
We cannot lose it.
I dislike Obama, (but, he is not in charge anyway).
We need a permanent base in Afghanistan.
Viewer how can you support a place like that,when we are broke in this country?I'm sorry but the United State's Glory days are gone!
We've stretched ourselves to the limit.People are tired of wars like this.They're expensive and as I said,this country can't afford it anymore!
While sending forces to Iraq, Republicans did not think.
Saudis, oil companies and lobbyists did the thinking for them.
Now in Afghanistan, they have started thinking deeply.
All the warmongers including Republicans, Hillarys should fight battles in Iran and Syria for a change instead of sending poor soldiers!
He means the US government is still committed..... Because the American people are not... We say @!$%# em...
Unfortunately, the American public is not informed (nor should they be).
The wars going on today are shrouded in religion, but they are mostly about oil.
We, have to provide (energy for our peoples) to stay ahead, and this is why three countries have tried to take Afghanistan.
The purpose is to get close to Iran.
The desired effect would have been to get the Afghan people on our side.
But since they are religion driven, this is not possible.
Therefore we must TAKE the land we need there to secure a base of operations.
The look of despair on Pannetta's face should tell you the anguish he is going through.
He cannot tell you (the public) what is happening, but I just did.
Don't take my word for it, just watch.
The Afghans are a thankless, violent people and we should leave them to fight amongst themselves.
This is not our finest moment and if Panetta and the President had any sense they would bring our troops home now. Instead they are saving face and dragging this disaster out. Why? So more of our military can show their insensitivity and stupidity and their Commanders can will have to make public announcements that set off riots. Bring the troops home. Overhaul the military and teach them some basic decency and common sense before we send them on the next mission. It would make us a better nation. As it is, bragging about staying when we know we are hated and we are in a no win situation just looks stupid.
It's being done for a reason, one that you have no knowledge of.
The same thing happened with Guantanamo.
The "president" has no power over these things, he makes promises he knows he can't keep.
Why do you think Obama stayed in Afghanistan?
Why do you think he is putting a pull out date past election time?
He knows by then things will have changed.
We NEED to be in Afghanistan and he and everyone (except for a few here) know this.
The ultimate goal is to secure land won in victory for a stable air base there close to the Iran border.
This MUST be achieved.
Let no one lie to you about it.
It is the prime directive.
The "stability" of Afghanistan is not the main goal here.
Get it done, get it secured, and get the rest (of our troops) out.
We need to get rid of the current administration and get this country back on track. As far as the Afghan goes, we should keep our troops on base and stop being a police force in anyway. We have a dead line for a pull out and should stick to it. I think we should pull out and let the Karzai government handle its own affairs. Best way to handle this part of the world is to map it get it on a grid, then target it for the future.
It's noteworthy that a Republican Senator is questioning why we are there and Panetta is sounding a lot like GWB. It's a sickening war and it's Obama's war. He tripled the number of troops and increased the casualty rate tremendously.
Of course the Afghan Army is going to attack our soldiers, it's not like this is the first time this has happened. Carl Levin's statement that it won't be repeated is the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time.
GTFO. I don't think anyone can keep the Taliban out of their terriitory.
Committed? Yes, we need to be committed to an institution. What is wrong with or leaders? Losing to the Taliban is not losing. It is giving back to the seventh century what belongs to the seventh century.
Just make it very plain that if they attack America they will become a glass parking lot. Period. Pull our money and support and go home.
Looks like people of the seventh century have the resources that the people of the twenty-first century covet,...
Ah, the contradictory war. We went in to remove the Taliban because they were supporting Al-Queda. We removed the Taliban, but now, 10 years later, we are negotiating with the Taliban to determine what role they will play in the government once we leave. Am I missing something, or does this make no sense? And why are we doing anything to support a government which allows the suppression of women and other groups?
This was, is, and always will be a stupid war.
There is a reason.
Or we would not still be there.
Viewer Ready, your points are well taken and i am thinking you may be correct about our agenda. However, wars latley are rarely won on the battlefield, they are more easily lost on the homefront. The latest news comming from the front is not promising. The american people have had enough and see little benifit in the long haul. The economy and the unemployment situation seems to be the bigger issues with the average american latley.
Problem is "the American People" do not see the value that the commanders do.
The economy and war are intertwined (unfortunately).
The total outcome outwieghs the cost of war in most cases.
Iraq was a mistake, it should have been a quick in and out.
Afghanistan is a whole different matter.
Panetta is Nut's. What he is saying is that they can Murder as many of our troops as they want. Strap a Rifle and back pack on that !#$%^#$@$ and put his ash in the front lines. Better yet just stand him on a street corner in any one of those Rat Hole little villages. And send McCain with him.
What a crock of crap from Panetta. There arent any Al-Queda left in Afghanistan, Were fighting a religious war against the Taliban. Karizai sold all the mineral deposits to China and they are building a railroad to transport it back to China. Our troops need to come home. We have given more than enough to the Afghan people. We have been training them for 10 years and they still don't know which end the bullet comes out.
My only question to this issue is: Why? We left the Philippines because the Senators voted for a sovereign nation status. That was not what the common people of the Philippines wanted, but diplomatic efforts to renew the Military Bases Agreement fell flat on it's face. If we are not wanted in the region, it's time to pack our bags and move on. The tax dollars would be best spent on local infrastructure and families in need within our own borders.
I will admit if Israel does hit Iran's nuclear capabilities, our troops are in striking range, that makes more sense than most propaganda we read in the media.
The only people that should be "committed" are the ones who believe the Afghan people will ever become a modern, civilized society.
Bring Home ALL American Troops by Christmas, 2012!
Bring them ALL home! Every day US money goes to these foreign countries to feed our troops. Bring our troops home and spend that money here! Quit spending our taxes on our enemies! End foreign aid too.
America First!
It does not work that way.
Viewer ready
You obviously wouldn't have any idea what works and doesn't work. You are just as ignorant as the politicians that started this war. Their is no justification for stealing the resources we think we want. The American people don't need a base in Afghanistan so we can attack Iran. No one needs that. It's just that the military industrial complex gets rich by killing people and making people like you pay for it. So they spread their BS propaganda about fear and interests and idiots like you but it.
Why are we still committed dumbass! Vote all these idiots out of office...time to get out....I hear we have committed 95Billion dollars to Afghanistan...yet we don't have enough money for Social Security, our elderly, our poor, and our Veterans!!VOTE THEM ALL OUT!!!!
So many of you say that we should leave Afghanistan, that there is nothing more to be gained by staying. You're wrong. My munitions stocks are dependant on that war. You pull out now and I will need to find a job. I invested all my children's college money in war, my mother's too. My wife will leave me if mom moves in with us. Please folks, won't you help me. The Bushes and Channeys will be bankrupted. You don't want that on your conscience.
Surely you JEST!
Gotta love a man with a sense of purpose,...