Speaking today on the removal of troops from the 2010 surge from Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta declared the surge had “accomplished its mission” and was an unquestionable success. Yesterday’s announcement brought the last of the 33,000 surge troops home, leaving 68,000 remaining.
The mission, according to Panetta, was “increasing the size and capability of the Afghan national security forces.” They are certainly bigger, but the training mission has been indefinitely postponed because of the growing number of insider attacks.
The more obvious effect of the surge was a dramatic rise in the death toll, which soared as soon as the surge began and is only now starting to get off its peak again in response to the troop cuts.
Panetta conceded that there are “difficult days ahead” for the troops, and NATO has put major limitations on interaction between NATO and Afghan troops because of the number of attacks by Afghan forces. Six NATO troops, four of them Americans, were killed last weekend in such attacks.
Mission accomplished? LOL!
"Mission accomplished." Dang, we've heard that before. Did Uncle Leon say what was accomplished?
Hahahaha…so he's going to declare victory just like when we evacuated the embassy rooftop in Saigon?
And I bet the pathetic US media lets them get away with calling it a win.
Leon is a liar, a paid liar! He invents stories to tell the proles, the ones like you and me. Those who rule us know we need to hear stories, stories about our greatness, our superiority, our nobility! And if none of these things are true, who cares?
Such stories keep us from asking questions, hard questions that might uncover the truth. War shows us what we are: greedy, two-legged killers!
I guess if we close our eyes and wish real hard, we can declare victory and go home. This finishes Afghanistan. Even the Republicans are not stupid enough to go back there.
I wouldn't bet on that. McCain is still bellowing for war with Russia, after all Sarah could see it out her dining room window.
The mission, according to Panetta, was “increasing the size and capability of the Afghan national security forces.”
Panetta clearly demonstrated the accomplishment of his mission through the successful training of all of those Afghan national security forces, who then demonstrated their newly obtained skills by eliminating their trainers and the occupiers of their country.
So, shouldn´t we now grant Panetta a mission accomplished?
Get that man a flight suit!
Kamikaze missions at least had targets to aim at. The US strategy is just murdering our troops for no purpose except politics. "Mission Accomplished"? Yes, if the mission is just to kill people.
Afganistan was an illegal war baised on lies that was doomed from the start.Look at the USSR but, of course are government don't look at history just the $$$ to be made and the innocent people killed.
"Mission Accomplished"..YESSSS….Yessss.just few trillions and thousands of lives wasted.
Sometime loosing is ''mission accomplished ''.specially if comes after every unjust and illegal war on constant basis..since it fits well on USA list of losses last 60 plus years, I guess I second Panetta and call him the only person telling his nation th truth.
He's talking about the surge in opium production, right?
Okay good. Now go home.
Surely you can all see this is the American way of war- when we get in too deep and begin to lose, we simply declare victory and go home.
Panetta's announcement is nothing short of declaring victory, before abandoing a war that was already lost before it began. The same thing could have been done 10 years ago, which would have saved billions of dollars and thousands of innocent lives.
Lol. What a fool.
I think the closest thing Mr. Panetta has taken to a bullet in defense of this country is one liner zingers from the last mentally challenged American Commander in Chief. He does not seem to have excessive scar tissue making a road map of his head like The Obummer, but his hair is a lot longer..