CBC: Can US Marines save the day in Afghanistan?

Mike Aivaz and Muriel Kane Published: Friday January 11, 2008  del.icio.us |
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As NATO forces struggle to contain a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, the US is expected to send 3000 more marines to that nation in advance of an anticipated spring offensive.

U.S. Army General Dan McNeill, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, made the formal request for reinforcements this week. It has already received the backing of Central Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is likely to get quick approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

However, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Company, the move has already been under consideration by the Pentagon for the last three months, while the Bush administration "has dragged its heels," partly out of fear that it would be seen as "an admission the US was far too absorbed in Iraq, while it left Afghanistan to dangerously deteriorate."

A more serious concern, though, is that sending US reinforcements could "give European allies a further excuse to avoid doing their share," an issue which Secretary Gates has openly acknowledged.

According to CBC, most NATO nations find it politically impossible to sell an expansion of the Afghan mission to their people, and as a result, "NATO is profoundly weak without US muscle."

Defense analyst Sean Kay told CBC, "NATO has always worked best when America leads it. ... I argued a year ago that rather than surging in Iraq, we should have been surging troops into Afghanistan."

Military analyst Seth Jones further explained that American forces are expected to serve as an aggressive attacking force against the Taliban because they "tend to be much less risk-adverse." This aggressiveness is welcomed by Canadian generals, though they also have concerns that it may upset local populations.

CBC correspondent Brian Stewart went further into what is at stake in Afghanistan, saying that "clearly the generals are far more worried than they're letting on in public. Several of them have talked about this being now on a knife's edge. They weren't saying that nine months ago."

"It's not just a question, however, of troop strength or even equipment," he continued. "The marines are exceptionally good and aggressive soldiers, and the Americans feel right now that NATO is not showing enough aggressiveness in the field."

Stewart emphasized that this should not be taken as a reflection on the professionalism of Canadian or European troops, but simply means they are under orders not to take risks that might lead to politically unacceptable levels of casualties. Americans, he said, are "more inured" to heavy losses because of Iraq.

The following video is from CBC's The National, broadcast on January 10, 2007