thedrifter
01-21-07, 08:28 AM
New Pentagon chief sees difficulties, as well as reason for hope, on two war fronts
By: ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- On his second fact-finding mission abroad since becoming defense secretary, Robert Gates discovered some less-than-encouraging things about the two wars he inherited from former Pentagon chief Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Gates returned to Washington on Saturday after a whirlwind tour that began last weekend in London and ended Friday in southern Iraq. In between he visited NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, met with troops and officials in Afghanistan and made stops in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
He said he found "universal agreement" on the importance of averting failure in Iraq and of confronting extremism in Afghanistan. But he also saw a way ahead that is littered with obstacles, small and large:
--Britain, the United States' closest ally and the biggest contributor after America of troops in Iraq, is planning to begin pulling out this year, even with the battle for Baghdad -- and thus the future of the entire Iraq enterprise -- in doubt.
--Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two important U.S. supporters in the Persian Gulf, are skeptical that President Bush's new plan for ending Baghdad's civil conflict will work. Neither governments made specific commitments when Gates told them the Iraq effort needs more help now in economic development. Both, however, said they want Iraq to hold together as a bulwark against Iran, whom they regard as a threat.
--Afghanistan, the war often overshadowed by Iraq, has a serious and possibly growing problem with Pakistan. Pakistan's border area is a staging ground for incursions by Taliban fighters still determined to regain power for their extremist movement. U.S. forces ousted the Taliban from Kabul, the capital, after invading Afghanistan in October 2001.
Gates said he was returning to Washington with a conviction that something must be done about the Pakistan border problem. He described himself as sympathetic to the recommendation by U.S. commanders in Afghanistan that additional U.S. troops be sent to the Central Asian nation this year.
In London, Gates heard the British assessment of security conditions in the portion of Iraq for which their troops are responsible: four provinces in the oil-producing southeast, including Basra, the country's second-largest city where Shiite militia influence is a problem.
Convinced that their part of Iraq is on the right track, the British told Gates they plan to begin withdrawing a significant number of their 7,000 troops this year as the Iraqis are given full control of Basra and surrounding areas.
There was no talk of the British government sending troops to Baghdad or other trouble spots such as Anbar province in the west. The Iraq war is even more unpopular in Britain that it is in the United States.
Unlike his first visit to Iraq, shortly before Christmas, Gates did not stop in Baghdad or meet with any Iraqi officials.
Aside from the warfront difficulties he saw, Gates sounded a few positive notes.
On his final stop, at Iraq's Tallil air base on Friday afternoon, Gates said he had searched for "ground truth" in talks with commanders from several of the United States' coalition partner countries.
He found that for all the emphasis on military action, other tools for stabilizing Iraq are at least as important. He referred to the work of civil-military teams designed to revive local economies.
"It's useful to see the other side of the story," Gates said.
He spoke encouragingly of NATO's growing role in Afghanistan. The alliance is assuming control of the counterinsurgency mission from U.S. forces, while the Americans continue to train the Afghan army, hunt for terrorists and deal with the Pakistan border problem.
Gates, the 63-year-old former CIA director who had been out of government for more than a decade before Bush put him at the Pentagon to replace Rumsfeld late last year, also showed a sense of humor and humility.
At a press conference at Tallil air base, he began with a confession.
"To the extent this was a fact-finding trip, I found at least one fact: I'm too old to do seven countries in five and a half days."
Ellie
By: ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- On his second fact-finding mission abroad since becoming defense secretary, Robert Gates discovered some less-than-encouraging things about the two wars he inherited from former Pentagon chief Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Gates returned to Washington on Saturday after a whirlwind tour that began last weekend in London and ended Friday in southern Iraq. In between he visited NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, met with troops and officials in Afghanistan and made stops in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
He said he found "universal agreement" on the importance of averting failure in Iraq and of confronting extremism in Afghanistan. But he also saw a way ahead that is littered with obstacles, small and large:
--Britain, the United States' closest ally and the biggest contributor after America of troops in Iraq, is planning to begin pulling out this year, even with the battle for Baghdad -- and thus the future of the entire Iraq enterprise -- in doubt.
--Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two important U.S. supporters in the Persian Gulf, are skeptical that President Bush's new plan for ending Baghdad's civil conflict will work. Neither governments made specific commitments when Gates told them the Iraq effort needs more help now in economic development. Both, however, said they want Iraq to hold together as a bulwark against Iran, whom they regard as a threat.
--Afghanistan, the war often overshadowed by Iraq, has a serious and possibly growing problem with Pakistan. Pakistan's border area is a staging ground for incursions by Taliban fighters still determined to regain power for their extremist movement. U.S. forces ousted the Taliban from Kabul, the capital, after invading Afghanistan in October 2001.
Gates said he was returning to Washington with a conviction that something must be done about the Pakistan border problem. He described himself as sympathetic to the recommendation by U.S. commanders in Afghanistan that additional U.S. troops be sent to the Central Asian nation this year.
In London, Gates heard the British assessment of security conditions in the portion of Iraq for which their troops are responsible: four provinces in the oil-producing southeast, including Basra, the country's second-largest city where Shiite militia influence is a problem.
Convinced that their part of Iraq is on the right track, the British told Gates they plan to begin withdrawing a significant number of their 7,000 troops this year as the Iraqis are given full control of Basra and surrounding areas.
There was no talk of the British government sending troops to Baghdad or other trouble spots such as Anbar province in the west. The Iraq war is even more unpopular in Britain that it is in the United States.
Unlike his first visit to Iraq, shortly before Christmas, Gates did not stop in Baghdad or meet with any Iraqi officials.
Aside from the warfront difficulties he saw, Gates sounded a few positive notes.
On his final stop, at Iraq's Tallil air base on Friday afternoon, Gates said he had searched for "ground truth" in talks with commanders from several of the United States' coalition partner countries.
He found that for all the emphasis on military action, other tools for stabilizing Iraq are at least as important. He referred to the work of civil-military teams designed to revive local economies.
"It's useful to see the other side of the story," Gates said.
He spoke encouragingly of NATO's growing role in Afghanistan. The alliance is assuming control of the counterinsurgency mission from U.S. forces, while the Americans continue to train the Afghan army, hunt for terrorists and deal with the Pakistan border problem.
Gates, the 63-year-old former CIA director who had been out of government for more than a decade before Bush put him at the Pentagon to replace Rumsfeld late last year, also showed a sense of humor and humility.
At a press conference at Tallil air base, he began with a confession.
"To the extent this was a fact-finding trip, I found at least one fact: I'm too old to do seven countries in five and a half days."
Ellie