Afghanistan: Marines Bring Some Calm In Helmand .... But Are They Going To Stay There?

Marine Captains Frank Biggio, left, and Brian Huysman visit the Nawa marketplace in Helmand province. There are 4,500 Marines in the region, a stronghold of the Taliban. (Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times)

From L.A. Times:

But many residents in the insurgent heartland fear the U.S. troops may leave abruptly, leaving the area for the Taliban to retake.

Reporting from Nawa, Afghanistan - When 500 U.S. Marines descended on this Taliban stronghold overnight, Afghan civilians were immediately suspicious about the intentions of the heavily armed Americans.

One question dominated all others: How long will the Americans stay? Five months later, there is still no clear answer.

Read more ....

My Comment: Democrats do not only have a security issue with the American electorate, they also have a security issue abroad. Bottom line .... they are not trusted.

Canada is preparing to leave Afghanistan in 2011 .... and that is not going to change. Being a Canadian I am fortunate to have good contacts in the Canadian Defense Department .... while there are many Canadian political reasons for our leaving, the one that is not mentioned is a lack of belief in the American commitment and desire to win in Afghanistan. President Obama's own remarks that 'victory' is not necessarily the goal in Afghanistan was our wake-up call on what the President is thinking.

You fight to win .... if you do not want to win .... you do not fight. Sun Tzu has a better version of this, but the intent on this administration is clear .... they are not committed to Afghanistan .... so why should we .... or for that matter .... the Afghan farmer in Helmand province.

Update: The following headline from the Times sums up perfectly this lack of commitment to Afghanistan from Washington and NATO ..... Allies ‘may abandon northern Helmand’.