Panetta says U.S. will have ‘enduring presence’ in Afghanistan after drawdown

[alp227]

Source: Washington Post

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the United States would have an enduring presence in Afghanistan after 2014, when there will be a major troop drawdown.

He also pushed back against reports that the Taliban is gaining strength in that country.

“Well, the most important point is that we’re not going anyplace. We’re gonna, we have an enduring presence that will be in Afghanistan,” Panetta said on ABC News’s “This Week.”

“We’ll continue to work with them on counterterrorism. We’ll continue to provide training, assistance, guidance. We’ll continue to provide support,” he said. “We are making good progress. I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened. We have not seen them able to conduct any kind of organized attack to regain any territory that they’ve lost. We’ve seen levels of violence going down. We’ve seen an Afghan army that is much more capable at providing security.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/panetta-warns-both-parties-on-defense-budget-cuts/2012/05/26/gJQA5ZtDuU_story.html

[BiggJawn]

1. Has anybody told Seoul yet?

"I'm sorry, it's been fun for the last 59 years, but I really think we should start seeing other countries..."

Thanks a buttload, Dumbya!

How much did Raytheon/Colt/Boeing/M-D/etc. stock jump on THIS happy news?

[Auntie Bush]

2. Shit!

[lib2DaBone]

3. "We’ll continue to work with them on counterterrorism"....

.. and drop an occasional Drone on women and children... just to keep their attention.

[unhappycamper]

4. The only thing 'enduring' about Afghanistan is the bullshit. n/t

[woo me with science]

9. +1000000 nt

[bemildred]

5. Panetta: US on ‘right track’ in Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Sunday defended the Obama administration’s plans to wind down the more than decade-long war in Afghanistan, saying the U.S. is on “the right track.’’

“We still have a fight on our hands,’’ Panetta said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.’’

“The American people need to know that. The world needs to know that … but we’re on the right track,’’ he added.

Last week, NATO allies affirmed a plan to end combat operations inside Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have criticized President Barack Obama’s insistence on setting a firm timetable for the war because they say it shows a lack of commitment to the region and encourages enemy fighters to wait out a U.S. departure.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-27/news/31869940_1_abbottabad-afghanistan-defense-secretary-leon-panetta

[bemildred]

6. Panetta slams Pakistan's demand for $5G per truck at border crossing

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday that the United States is not about to "get gouged" by Pakistan -- which despite having received billions in U.S. aid is demanding $5,000 for every truck that carries supplies into Afghanistan across its border.

The dispute over the border crossing is once again in the spotlight after Pakistan sentenced to 33 years in prison the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track down Usama bin Laden.

Panetta on Sunday called that decision "disturbing," though he said the U.S. government will continue to "work at" its troubled relationship with Pakistan. Yet with Islamabad continuing to try and extract money from the U.S. over the still-closed border crossing, Panetta insisted Sunday that the United States will only pay a "fair price" for that access.

"We're not about to get gouged in the price. We want a fair price," Panetta said on ABC's "This Week."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/27/panetta-us-to-keep-working-with-pakistan-despite-disturbing-sentence-doctor/

[bemildred]

7. Defense chief Panetta: Looming cuts would be ‘disastrous’

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sunday that more than $500 billion in defense-related cuts scheduled to kick in early next year would be “disastrous” to national security and begged lawmakers to restore the money.

The cuts were included in last summers bipartisan debt and budget agreement that allowed the White House to raise the debt ceiling. Since then, members of Congress from both parties have pushed to undo the Pentagon’s portion of the $1.2 trillion “sequestration” budget cuts that also target nondefense domestic programs.

“I think what both Republicans and Democrats need to do, and the leaders of both sides, is to recognize that if sequester takes place, it would be disastrous for our national defense, and very frankly, for a lot of very important domestic programs,” Mr. Panetta said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“They have a responsibility to come together and find the money necessary to de-trigger sequester.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/27/defense-chief-panetta-looming-cuts-would-be-disast/

[KamaAina]

8. Why not just say "occupation"?

It has one fewer syllable.

[may3rd]

10. We are still in western europe almost 70 after putting boots on the ground

I see no reversal after the Marshal plan ended

[DeSwiss]

11. Sure will!

- We'll be there until they run out of dirt. Specifically, this kind of dirt.........

[newspeak]

12. meanwhile, back at the ranch (US)

the people are bleeding from a thousand cuts. What I see happening if policies aren't reversed is global corporations and wealthy getting even wealthier and the people getting poorer, while the media catapults the masters' bullshite, they are protecting us. Austerity for everyone, except the behemoth monster, MIC.

I think the terror boogeyman is being replaced by the plebes, by the real boogeyman-no job, low paying jobs, no pensions, losing homes, and for some, where to find their next meal. So, who's security are they really worried about? I'd say, the well being of the american people and our infrastructure is about security; not the interests of global corporations increasing their stocks on our dime. So, are we protecting china's mining interests in afghanistan?

[gratuitous]

13. "We are making good progress."

Gee, after 10 years of making the rubble bounce, I should hope to shit and shout, Leon. Has it been worth the money, men and materiel? Or is that question in and of itself evidence of being a terr symp?