Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama aims to bring the Afghan war to an end before he leaves office, he said on Wednesday.
The foreign secretary David Milband of the United Kingdom says a future political solution for Afghanistan will include senior Taliban commanders in government.
Speaking Tuesday at a NATO parliamentary assembly in Edinburgh, David Miliband said the Afghan government would include high-level commanders that can be persuaded to renounce al-Qaeda and pursue their goals peacefully. He said most Taliban fighters could be convinced to stop fighting.
Last week, Brown said NATO countries might send an additional 5,000 soldiers to Afghanistan.
Concerned about the faltering war in Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama plans to dispatch thousands more military and civilian trainers on top of the 17,000 fresh combat troops he's already ordered, people familiar with the forthcoming plan said
Canada currently has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan. The military mission there is slated to finish by the end of 2011.
So as we see by opposite headlines and news bytes, Is NATO going to increase troops, prepare for a handover and pullout. Talk to the so called moderate Taliban.
Talk about adding more pressure to the troops. What headline is the winner. Only CANADA seems to be on a single game plan. To be out by 2011.
So as our leaders make their decisions we must continue to show our support to our troops. Cards Letters and parcels especially at this time of year so close to Christmas.
My friend of fifty years from the Soldier Apprentice programme Dave Davies sent me these quotes from a Military humour column:
'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.' - General MacArthur -
'Tracers work both ways.' - U.S. Army Ordnance Manual-
'Five second fuses only last three seconds.' -Infantry Journal -
'Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.' - Maritime Ops Manual -
'If the enemy is in range, so are you.' - Infantry Journal-
One thing that never changes in the military no matter what country they are serving.There is always humour even in the darkest of times.
As for the UN conference on Somali pirates, a decision to arrest and try these bandits must be made soon and enforced. Last headline for todays Blog , concerns the barbaric laws of the land on innocent people:
Somali woman stoned to death for adultery
A judge for an Islamic militant group in Somalia says a woman has been stoned to death and her boyfriend given 100 lashes for having an affair.
Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, the judge for the group al-Shabab, says the woman was killed Tuesday in front of a crowd of some 200 people near the town of Wajid.
Abdirahman says the 20-year-old woman had an affair with a 29-year-old unmarried man.
May the Lord protect our sailors in their duties against pirates, far from home.
Remember Everyone Deployed Nil Sine Labore
Robby
