GAO reports casts new doubt on Afghanistan policy

[laststeamtrain]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

GAO reports casts new doubt on Afghanistan policy
By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers Wed May 5, 8:43 pm ET

WASHINGTON — An independent government report on Wednesday raises new questions about the likelihood of success for President Barack Obama's Afghanistan policy, which nearly doubles the number of U.S. troops there before a planned drawdown begins in July 2011 .

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The report noted that Taliban -initiated attacks in Afghanistan rose 75 percent between 2008 and 2009 and that civilian casualties rose 72 percent between last September and March, compared with the comparable period a year earlier.

The report, released just days before Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to visit Washington amid strained relations with the Obama administration, buttressed last week's downbeat Pentagon assessment of the situation in Afghanistan . That report found that overall levels of violence rose 87 percent between February 2009 and March 2010 .

The GAO report said that the rising levels of violence in Afghanistan had made it harder for U.S. and international aid agencies to build development projects there — a key aspect of the U.S. policy to undercut Taliban influence in the country. United Nations development teams have only limited ability to visit much of the country, the GAO reported.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100506/wl_mcclatchy/3496982

[Iliyah]

1. I know

the country has been around since the beginning of time.

[Wilms]

2. So I'm STILL right.

Can we stop now?

[whereaminow]

3. How can success be measured

if the real goals continue to go unstated? Until we know the intentions, no conclusion can be drawn. Oh, and bin Laden is not in Tehran, or D.C. He's at his Black Sea resort home. Been there since '02. He may have visited a few times, but, you know, just shopping...

This numbers game they're playing is pretty disgusting. Sounds like a weather report. "Chances of violence up this week with a 70% chance of bombing in Khartoum over the weekend holidays.." Interesting to see the GAO involved in warfare of all things. Bean counters have more clout than the generals. Need more proof as to what this war is all about?

[AllentownJake]

4. Who could have predicted this?

I mean who could have predicted occupying a mountainous country without a history of a centralized government and strong tribal traditions with large stockpiles of weapons and the leadership we've embrace is morally bankrupt and not liked by the population would turnout this way.