Showing posts with label Mullen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mullen. Show all posts

Friday, November 12, 2010

Adm Mullen says Afghans have resources needed to win

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11, 2010 – After years of under-resourcing the war in Afghanistan, the coalition has put in place the pieces needed to win the counterinsurgency battle in the country, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen made the comments as part of the Bernard Brodie Distinguished Lecture Series on the UCLA campus here. Renee Montagne, the daughter of a Marine and co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition, hosted led conversation.

Mullen said that while the United States has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001, only recently has the conflict received the attention and resources it requires. The war followed an arc that was promising in the early days, but seemed to plateau until 2006, when the Taliban came back with a vengeance.
When Mullen became chairman in 2007, Iraq was the main U.S. conflict. The surge was in full swing and American forces were spending 15 months at assignments in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. There were more than 150,000 Americans in Iraq and under 40,000 in Afghanistan. It was a conservation of force mission in Afghanistan, meaning the United States was sending just enough resources to maintain the combat forces there, he said.
Read the rest of the article at the link below:
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=61658