The War In Afghanistan: USA Lacks Credibility? No Kidding!

The US and its NATO Allies are losing the war in Afghanistan. That is a given. They are there under false pretenses, and the people of Afghanistan know the truth. The people there are fighting back against these occupiers by any means necessary, and the majority are turning to support and to fight with the Taliban "insurgents". I bet that you will never see these truths on CNN!

I just came across an article that can be found under www.rawstory.com that shows how the top US soldier in the area, Admiral Mullen, confirms all of my suspicions that the war in Afghanistan is lost due to the fact that the foreign soldiers do not have the support of the local population there! Here is the article, with my comments to follow:

Top soldier: US forces lack credibility in Afghanistan

BY DANIEL TENCER

Published: August 29, 2009
Updated 1 day ago

The US military effort in Afghanistan lacks credibility because the US hasn’t done enough to establish relationships with local communities and its actions don’t always match its words, says the top US soldier, Adm. Mike Mullen.

In a statement published on the Web site of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said: “Our biggest problem isn’t caves; it’s credibility. Our messages lack credibility because we haven’t invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven’t always delivered on promises.”

Mullen admitted that public-relations disasters like the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and civilian deaths in air strikes in Afghanistan are hurting the US’s efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan.

“We hurt ourselves more when our words don’t align with our actions,” Mullen wrote. “Our enemies regularly monitor the news to discern coalition and American intent as weighed against the efforts of our forces. When they find a ’say-do’ gap—such as Abu Ghraib—they drive a truck right through it.”

In an interview (PDF) with Joint Forces Quarterly, Mullen said that, while the multinational forces in Afghanistan are getting better at minimizing civilian casualties, it will take more than precise military strikes to prevent Afghans from joining the fight against the US and its allies.

“We can’t win—we don’t win—without earning their trust, and providing alternatives to the violent lives many are choosing right now,” Mullen told the quarterly.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also called for a new, more open communication policy for the armed forces fighting overseas.

“Make no mistake—there has been a certain arrogance to our [strategic communication] efforts,” Mullen stated. “We’ve come to believe that messages are something we can launch downrange like a rocket, something we can fire for effect.”

Mullen called for a two-way approach to communication with the Afghan people, saying, “it’s not about telling our story. We must also be better listeners.”

The admiral added: “I would argue that most strategic communication problems are not communication problems at all. They are policy and execution problems. Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are.”

Yet many observers today question whether the US military is truly moving in a more open direction when it comes to communication. Recent news articles have revealedthat the US military has hired a public-relations agency, The Rendon Group, to vet reporters embedded with the US military and rank them “positive,” “neutral” or “negative” depending on the “tone” of their coverage.

NTS Notes: It seems that the top brass in the US military have failed to read up their facts about warfare from the ancient book: "The Art Of War", by Sun Tzu. This book clearly lays it out that no invading force can win a war of occupation without the trust, and the hearts and the minds of the occupied people supporting them! This fact still holds true to this day and age. The US cannot win the hearts and the minds of the people of Afghanistan as long as they continue to support the corruption rampant in that nation that includes the corrupt puppet dictator Karzai in power in Kabul, and the Afghan drug production and trafficking to markets around the world!

More soldiers are doomed to die for this unjust cause, unless people take a stand and demand that their troops come home. Lets get the troops out of Afghanistan, NOW!

More to come

NTS