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Gates: Mistake to set Afghan withdrawal timelines

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-28 11:57

Marine Corps General James Cartwright (R), vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a joint news briefing with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Pentagon in Washington September 17, 2009. [Agencies]

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it's a mistake to set a deadline to end American military action in Afghanistan, as some liberals have sought, adding that a defeat would be disastrous for the US.

In a stern warning to critics of a continued troop presence in Afghanistan, Gates said the Islamic extremist Taliban and al-Qaida would perceive an early pullout as a victory over the United States as similar to the Soviet Union's humiliating withdrawal in 1989 after a 10-year war.

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"The notion of timelines and exit strategies and so on, frankly, I think would all be a strategic mistake. The reality is, failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States," Gates said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

"Taliban and al-Qaida, as far as they're concerned, defeated one superpower. For them to be seen to defeat a second, I think, would have catastrophic consequences in terms of energizing the extremist movement, al-Qaida recruitment, operations, fundraising, and so on. I think it would be a huge setback for the United States."

Gates' pointed remarks came as President Barack Obama re-examines his administration's strategy in Afghanistan and as the Pentagon sits on a request for additional troops from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

McChrystal has said a different strategy on the ground as well as more troops are needed in Afghanistan. In a "60 Minutes" profile that aired Sunday night, the commander argued for faster progress. "We could do good things in Afghanistan for the next 100 years and fail," he says. "Because we're doing a lot of good things and it just doesn't add up to success. And we've got to think quicker."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested Obama's decisions will come after the election in Afghanistan is sorted out.

"This is not like an election in Western Europe or the United States, to carry out an election in these circumstances was going to be difficult under any conditions. It's not over yet," Clinton told CBS' "Face the Nation."

"We have to wait until it is resolved, hopefully very soon. Then make a new commitment on how to meet our strategic goals. And it's going to be up to the president to determine how best to achieve that."

Gates said Obama has made no decision on whether to send additional troops. He said if Obama were to choose to increase combat forces, they would not be able to mobilize until January.

The prospect of sending additional soldiers has created a backlash among some Democrats in Congress and has angered anti-war activists on the left who rallied behind Obama's presidential candidacy last year.

Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has said the administration should set a "flexible timeline" to draw down troops. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has called for a timeline and a time limit for achieving objectives in Afghanistan.

"I do not believe the American people want to be in Afghanistan for the next 10 years, effectively nation building," she told "Fox News Sunday."

Others, such as Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin of Michigan, have not gone as far, but have urged Obama not to escalate the war.

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