Gates Discusses Iraq, Afghanistan With Deployed Troops
(March 15, 2010) |
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| A U.S. MILITARY BASE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 11, 2010 –
Servicemembers quizzed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates
about Afghanistan, the elections in Iraq and the Iran
situation during a question-and-answer period here today.
Gates spoke to members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.
The wing has been deployed here since January 2002 in
response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The unit has a
refueling mission, a reconnaissance mission and also
provides air command and control for the U.S. Central
Command area of operations.
Not surprisingly, the airmen and soldiers at the base wanted
to know how operations in the theater are going.
Gates told the group that the extraordinary turnout in the
Iraqi election held March 7, is a good sign for the future.
Before the election, the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen.
Raymond T. Odierno, told Gates that a turnout of 50 to 55
percent would be good, and a turnout of 55 to 60 percent
would be outstanding. “We apparently ended up with 62
percent turnout,” the secretary said. “When you think of
where we were three years ago, ... the progress there has been
extraordinary.”
If the Iraqis can form a government quickly, the secretary
said, he sees no reason why the United States could not meet
the marks set for the U.S. withdrawal from the country. That
would mean all combat units will be out of Iraq by the end
of August, and all American forces will be gone by the end
of 2011.
The subject shifted to Iran, whose nuclear program disturbs
all countries in the region. By coincidence, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad visited neighboring
Afghanistan at the same time that Gates was in the country.
The Iranian leader met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai
the day after Gates met with him.
Some Iranian-made weapons and supplies have ended up in the
hands of the Taliban, but that is not yet having a negative
impact on the U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan,
Gates said.
The secretary joked that he and Ahmedinijad “exchanged a few
words through the media yesterday.”
“I talked about Iran playing a double game with Afghanistan
– wanting to have a good relationship with the Afghan
government, but wanting to make our lives harder and our
lives more difficult,” the secretary said.
But so far, he added, the Iranian level of effort in
Afghanistan is not a major problem. “The level of their
support to the Taliban has, so far as we can tell, been
pretty limited,” Gates said. “I was just trying to express
the hope that it wouldn't get any worse than that.”
The conflict there will take time, the secretary said,
though commanders in the country told him during his visit
earlier this week that the Taliban momentum has been
blunted.
“What I've tried to point out to folks is that of the 30,000
troops that the president ordered for the surge in
Afghanistan, only about 6,000 are in country so far,” he
said.
The rest of the troops will be deployed by the end of
August, and that will allow the new strategy in the country
to be fully implemented. “The civilian capacity that is
equally important to our success there is just arriving and
getting in to place as well,” the secretary said.
A key element of the new strategy involves obtaining more
trainers for the Afghan security forces. U.S., NATO and
international partners are working on getting the training
teams in place that Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal,
commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan,
says he needs, Gates said.
“My view is all the pieces needed to be successful in
Afghanistan – including increasing the size of the Afghan
national army and police – are just beginning to come
together,” he said. “My view is that the signs we have seen
so far indicate to me that General McChrystal's strategy is
working, but it's still a hard fight ahead of us.”
Gates thanked the members of the unit for their efforts. He
said they are helping to make a difference in Afghanistan in
particular. “You've flown thousands of sorties providing
support for those in action,” he said. “And I can tell you,
I spent a good part of [March 9] in Helmand and Kandahar
provinces, and those men and women on the ground know how
much they owe you all for the support you've given them. You
save lives every day.”
Gates asked the servicemembers to thank their families for
him.
“You couldn't do what you do without their support back home
and I want you to pass along from me personally that we
recognize how much they sacrifice and how important their
support for you is,” he said.
The secretary then shook the hand of every member of the
audience and handed his commemorative coin to them.
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By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
R eprinted from American Forces Press Service / DoD
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