Retired GENERAL McCAFFREY Calls for Perpetual War On State-Run TV

[Orwellian_Ghost]

GREGORY: Realistically, from both of you generals, what is victory in Afghanistan?

GEN. MYERS: Some sort--in my view, it's some sort of stable government. And back to Senator Levin's point...

GREGORY: So we can't leave. We can't pull troops out of Afghanistan until there's a stable government?

GEN. MYERS: I think it has to be a viable, stable government that the people believe in. And if you're going to have Afghan security forces that are effective, they have to be connected to the central government and feel that there's some connection and some direction coming from their central government. Otherwise it doesn't work; they're just in the field doing what they do but there's no connection to the overall mission of that country. So I think clearly that's, that's part of it. And I think there has to be some economic development to give people there hope that there's something beyond...

GREGORY: Yeah.

GEN. MYERS: ...what they're doing today.

GREGORY: Can we beat the Taliban?

GEN. McCAFFREY: Well, I, I think in 10 years of $5 billion a month and with a significant front-end security component, we can leave a Afghan national army and police force and a viable government and roads and universities. But it's a time constraint that we can't change things in 18 to 24 months. So I think we got to lower expectations. Senator Levin talked about our political resolve; is it there or not? You know, sort of a simplistic lesson I learned as an infantry company commander in combat, you only got three choices. When you're under fire you can hunker down and take casualties--it's bad--you can break contact and withdraw or you can reinforce and attack. That's really the, the challenge facing the Obama administration right now. And the, the politics of it are really tough. The American people do not appear to support large-scale continued intervention in this conflict.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33253216/ns/meet_the_press/page/3/

[liberal N proud]

1. 1984 here we come

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. That's like asking a high-priced hooker if screwing is a good way to make a living

Sheesh........

[msongs]

3. "forward, he cried, from the rear, and the front rank died" - Pink Floyd nt

[TacticalPeek]

4. Perpetual >< 10 years or less.

He says we should "lower expectations" from the 10 years he thinks it would take to defeat the Taliban.

He specifically advocates against extended war, much less "perpetual".