Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Admits ‘We don’t have troops…ready to go’ to fight the war in
Afghanistan
The Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen joined the ranks of military leaders who
have admitted that because of the war in Iraq, the U.S. is unable to dedicate
the necessary number of troops to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“So, should we be in a
position where more troops are removed from Iraq, the possibility of sending
additional troops [to Afghanistan] — where we need them, clearly — certainly
it's a possibility. But it's really going to be based on the availability of
troops. We don't have troops — particularly in Brigade Combat Team size —
sitting on the shelf, ready to go.” [3/28/08]
Gen. James Conway,
Commandant of the Marine Corps:
“[The
Marines] cannot have one foot in Afghanistan and one foot in Iraq.” [Washington
Post, 2/2/08]
Lt. Gen. John Sattler
(USMC), Director for Strategic Plans & Policy:
“…the priority now for
resources is going towards Iraq at this time…there are some things we could do
and, as Admiral Mullen said, we may like to do, we would like to do, but we
can't take those on now until the resource balance shifts, sir.” [Testimony
before the Senate Armed Services Committee, 2/14/08]
·
It has been 2,382 days since the September 11th attacks – Osama bin
Laden remains free.
·
486 brave U.S. servicemembers have been killed and more than 1,900 have been
wounded in Afghanistan since October 2001. [Department of Defense, 3/22/08]
·
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell testified in February that
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and his government control just one-third
of the country – the remaining majority is under the control of either the
Taliban or local tribes. [AP,
2/28/08]
·
According to a report released by the United Nations, “insurgent and terrorist
violence in Afghanistan increased sharply in 2007, with over 8,000
conflict-related deaths and an average of 566 incidents per month.” [AP,
3/10/08]
Source:
http://www.speaker.gov/
