The US and NATO Commander in Afghanistan, General Mc Chrystal has given an astonishingly frank interview to the Wall St Journal. Further details on the Stop the War Coalition site. All of this suggests that as the bodies and the costs mount, time is running out for those supporting the war.
One year to prevent public support evaporating
General McChrystal defended the decision to focus first on Helmand. The current operation, one of the largest since the start of the war in 2001, was meant to disrupt the Taliban's lucrative drug operations there, he said.
The armed group reaps tens of millions of dollars annually from the sale of opium from Helmand, and the commander said he wants to have troops on the ground before local farmers start to plant their next batch of poppies in November. The US is working to persuade Helmand's farmers to replace their poppy fields with wheat and fruit.
The roughly 4,000 Marines in Helmand have been charged with putting McChrystal's thinking about counterinsurgency into practice. They are trying to build local relationships by launching small development and reconstruction projects.
General McChrystal said his new strategy had to show clear results within roughly 12 months to prevent public support for the war from evaporating in both the U.S. and Afghanistan. "This is a period where people are really looking to see which way this is going to go," he said. "It's the critical and decisive moment."
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