Gates says Afghanistan problems caused by lack of troops

Reuters:

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday blamed the past U.S. failure to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan for the Taliban's revival and said the United States could not afford to become the second superpower defeated there.

While declining to comment on the direction of U.S. President Barack Obama's sweeping review of U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan, Gates made clear the United States was not pondering a withdrawal despite the war's growing unpopularity.

"We are not leaving Afghanistan. This discussion is about next steps forward and the president has some momentous decisions to make," Gates said in a TV program taped at George Washington University that will be aired by CNN on Tuesday.

Seeking to shore up support, Obama invited senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the future course of the war. He is due to meet his national security team on Wednesday and Friday to discuss how to deal with the deteriorating security situation.

"I don't think we have the option to leave," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "That's quite clear."

...

The Pelosicrats are ready to bug out or cut back. They are members of the perennial loser lobby who are always eager for defeat so they can use it as an argument against the use of force in the future. They were desperate for defeat in Iraq and have are moving in that direction in Afghanistan. It maybe a funny meeting with only Republicans supporting victory. If Gates sticks with his conclusion the most obvious answer to the question of what to do is send more troops.

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