Panetta: Afghan war has problems, but progress being made
Washington (CNN) - CIA Director Leon Panetta said Sunday that the war in Afghanistan had "serious problems," but the U.S.-led mission was making progress.
"It's harder, it's slower than I think anyone anticipated," said Panetta, the nation's top intelligence officer, in a rare media interview with the ABC program "This Week."
He cited governance problems, drug trafficking and the Taliban insurgency - all in a tribal society - as the major challenges to the goal of "making sure al Qaeda never finds another safe haven from which to attack this country."
"Winning in Afghanistan is having a country that is stable enough to ensure that there is no safe haven for al Qaeda or for a militant Taliban that welcomes al Qaeda," Panetta said.
Updated: 10:25 a.m.
Could it be because the current administration is starting to sense that the "can't we all get along" and community organizing approach do not work on the world stage. The rest of the world do not hate americans,, they are envious of us and since they can't achieve as we do then they will attempt to reduce us.
so nice someone in Obama's group notices but then this is still Bush's fault right no I mean left???
we hopefully don't go to war unless there are problems, serious problems, that brought us there
now the case for Iraq, well, the Bush family needed that oil, so there was your problem
Afganistan, well, we don't read our history books and the books we do have are so WATERED DOWN that alternative points about what happened in an altercation cannot fit into the paragraph the class book has or the discussion the teacher has at blinding speed
This is the problem when you are trying to carry out a failling policy.You try to blame it on some mysterious,whatever.Obama needs to get our soldiers home ,now.!!!
The Afghan war should be over. We have no business there anymore. If these people can't help themselves after 9 years then so be it. Get the hell out, bring our troops home and quit making military wives widows and their children fatherless. What a shame! This country should be ashame. Thank you George Bush and Dick Cheney for making this country weaker not stronger. Both of you should be waterboarded and in prison.
I think it is Obama that has sent in close to 60,000 troops sense becomming president .I th0ink he should quit blaming Bush for this, since this is his policy that is not working.Get our soldiers home!!
There is not one Congressman, newsman, or citizen that can know how this war will go. I want us out but I want it with the least amount of casulties and will not spend time second guessing the General.
Story after story talks about "possibilites" and how people "feel".
I wish it were 1942 agian and we have a nightly newspaper to rerad instead of endless hours of programming to disect every breath of asituation.
Obviously there are lots of problems with the war in Afghanistan, but taking the international forces out of the country cannot be a solution to a problem which has severe security impacts globally. The wolrd, specially the United States, has already experienced the consequencies of forgetting this war-torn country. The best way out of the problem is to address the poor governance and corruption in Afghanistan, builde a healthy and corruption-free national army, create more jobs for the people and identify and address the roots of the problems out of Afghanistan in the neighboring countries where the Taliban are trained, armed and sent to kill Afghan and international forces in Afghanistan.
The progress being made in Afghan is due to our brave military men and women who give so much. We all need to thank them along with the Afghan people who do.
In order for there to be true success in Afghanistan, the major player in this global war of terror must be stopped, that player is better known as herion. The drug runners are probably one of the most organized groups in the world, they rival some of the most powerful militaries (maybe due to corruption). The easiest way to reach success and smoke out the true enemies in this war, is burn the opium fields. It should be our number one priority. By stopping the opium trade, we become a hero to the many, and it is also the least combatant option and policy. If destroying the opium hurts the Taliban and other terrorist networks, it only proves that these groups are not Religious groups trying to defend their homeland from western imperialism and culture, but something far more sinister, which could be great p.r. for the U.S. lead coalition.
If progress is being made it is despite all OBAMA can do to stop it.
Obama has already lost this war. Defeat becomes official next year when Obama's timeline ends. Then you'll see the Taliban retake Afghanistan.
Yes, there is a problem when Peneta talks about the invasion of the Taliban. He doesn't even know that they are a group of freedom fighters and citizens of Afghanistan that drove out the British, the Russians and now the US. We can't win when we are creating more enemies each day in the country and while we support the corrupt Karzi Government. We are wrong and need to get out!