NATO Wins Battles but Loses Afghan War

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Thomas looks through a target shot by Afghan National Army trainers on a firing range Kandahar on Jan. 23, 2008.

'Boots' McCain says we are doing fine in Iraq. He was a brave flyer, but he takes the lead from strategy know nothings. The President sees the recent upswing in fighting as a positive development.

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (IPS) - "Make no mistake," begins a new issue brief from non-partisan think tank the Atlantic Council of the United States, "NATO is not winning in Afghanistan."

That brief, called "Saving Afghanistan: An Appeal and Plan for Urgent Action", was released Wednesday at an event on Capitol Hill, along with two other reports that call on the international community and the U.S. to "re-energise their faltering effort" in Afghanistan.

The speakers at the release of the reports all showed equal concern that, despite overwhelming U.S. and international military might, things are going badly awry in Afghanistan and that a comprehensive reworking of international strategy there was needed.

"The fatal consequence, all too familiar to those of who lived through Vietnam, is that you can win every battle, but fail to win the war," said Sen. John Kerry in his introductory remarks. "Absent a new focus and a transformed strategy, many of us fear that may be happening again."
[IPS]