President Barack Obama's July 2011 date to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has given a morale boost to Taliban insurgents, who believe they can wait out Nato forces, the head of the US Marines said yesterday.
But retiring General James Conway said he believed Marines would not be in a position to withdraw from the fight in southern Afghanistan for years, even though he acknowledged that Americans were growing "tired" of the nine-year-old war.
Gen Conway's unusually blunt assessment is likely to fan criticism of Mr Obama's war strategy ahead of US congressional elections in November, as public opinion of the conflict sours further and casualties rise.
"In some ways, we think right now it is probably giving our enemy sustenance," Gen Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, said of the July 2011 deadline. "In fact we've intercepted communications that say, 'Hey, you know, we only need to hold out for so long.'"
Supporters of Mr Obama's July 2011 date to start withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, conditions permitting, say it conveys a needed sense of urgency to Kabul. Afghans must quickly increase the size of their security forces for a gradual handover.
But critics say the strategy backfired, sending a signal to the Taliban that the United States was preparing to wind down the war while setting unrealistic expectations among Americans about the pace of progress in Afghanistan.
The timetable for withdrawal is certain to come under close scrutiny in a White House strategy review in December, which Mr Obama called for last year when he announced the July 2011 deadline and 30,000 additional forces.
Gen Conway, quoting one of his own commanders, told reporters: "We can either lose fast or win slow."
"We know the president was talking to several audiences at the same time when he made his comments on July 2011," Gen Conway told reporters at the Pentagon.
"Though I certainly believe that some American units somewhere in Afghanistan will turn over responsibilities to Afghanistan security forces in 2011, I do not think they will be Marines."
Violence across Afghanistan has reached record levels despite the presence of almost 150,000 US and Nato troops. US and Nato forces have also stepped up operations after the Taliban insurgency spread out of the South and East into once relatively peaceful areas of the North and West.
Reuters