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"... In recent years, the Taliban has gained the advantage in the fight for Afghanistan. “It’s important we get an initial infusion of forces, to help reverse this momentum quickly,” Nicholson says.
“So it’s a quick counterpunch?” I ask.
“It’s think that’s a way to look at it,” he answers. “We’re gonna buy space and time. Space meaning by physically securing the population. And then as quickly as we can, produce Afghan - capable Afghan - security units - [who then] take over those security roles from us.”
David Sedney, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, also used the “counterpunch” term, but says “it’s probably a little more than that… In the past, we’ve been slow to react and reacted with too little. The objective here is to get ahead.”...
It won’t be easy. Top American commander Gen. Stanley McCrhystal reportedly asked for as many as 10,000 new U.S. trainers; he’ll get only about half of that. What’s more, Afghanistan’s government is famously corrupt. What good is a well-trained Afghan Army, if its top leaders can’t be trusted?"
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