by bartleby the scrivener | So says Anthony Cordesman, senior advisor to Gen. Stanley McChrystal.(ToL) From the Times of London:
"Mr Cordesman, of the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, said: “The insurgents may have lost
virtually every tactical clash [against Nato troops], but they have expanded
their areas of influence from a presence in some 30 of Afghanistan’s 364
districts in 2003 to one in some 160 districts by the end of 2008, while
insurgent attacks increased by 60 per cent during October 2008 to April 2009
alone.
"“Nato must change its strategy and tactics after years in which member
countries, particularly the United States, failed to react to the
seriousness of the emerging insurgency,” he added." (Times of London)
WaPo has more on the expected "long-term, costly effort." At Newshoggers, Steve Hynd asks: "Can everyone say "mission creep?'" Michael Cohen agrees. "If McChrystal is listening to...Cordesman - and if the
President is listening to McChrystal -- we are going to be in
Afghanistan for not years, but potentially decades." That's right. As Cohen points out, Sir David Richards, the incoming head of the British army, is predicting 40 MORE YEARS in Afghanistan.