ID :
43053
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 15:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/43053
The shortlink copeid
U.S. hopeful of Japan's nonmilitary role in Afghanistan: Mullen+
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 Kyodo - The United States is hopeful that Japan will make contributions to the reconstruction and stability of Afghanistan in nonmilitary fields, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.
''Additional kinds of capabilities, whether they would be medical or economic
or anything along those lines -- education -- all of those are more than
welcome,'' Michael Mullen said at a news briefing. ''They're needed and they're
welcome.''
The top U.S. military officer also said Tokyo's refueling mission in the Indian
Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan
is ''significant.''
In the several years of the mission, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
has been refueling foreign vessels taking part in the U.S.-led crackdown on
ships linked to terrorism.
Mullen did not mention Japan's possible dispatch of its Ground-Self Defense
Force to Afghanistan, an idea floated by the administration of former President
George W. Bush and declined by Tokyo.
The Navy admiral said Afghanistan and Pakistan are Washington's top military
priority. He also painted a bleak picture of the security situation in
Afghanistan.
''The risk of where we are in Afghanistan right now in terms of outcomes, I
think...is pretty high right now because it's not going well and it hasn't been
going well for a significant period of time,'' he said.
President Barack Obama has promised to fulfill a campaign pledge to withdraw
all troops from Iraq within 16 months while redeploying some of the troops to
Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida.
Also Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said before the Senate Armed
Services Committee that Afghanistan now poses ''the greatest military
challenge'' to the United States.
''There is little doubt that our greatest military challenge right now is
Afghanistan,'' he said. ''President Obama has made it clear that the
Afghanistan theater should be our top military priority.''
Gates said the United States could deploy two more brigades to Afghanistan by
late spring and another brigade by mid-summer, while drawing down U.S. forces
in Iraq.
''While this will undoubtedly be a long and difficult fight, we can attain what
I believe should be among our strategic objectives: an Afghan people who do not
provide a safe haven for al-Qaida, reject the rule of the Taliban and support
the legitimate government that they elected and in which they have a stake,''
he said.
Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has requested
30,000 more troops for the country to nearly double the 35,000 U.S. troops
currently stationed there.
Gates said U.S. objectives in Afghanistan should be ''limited,'' acknowledging
the difficulties of stabilizing the country and doubting the chances for
success of an ambitious nation-building project.
''My own personal view is that our primary goal is to prevent Afghanistan from
being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States
and our allies,'' he said.
==Kyodo
2009-01-28 22:32:46
''Additional kinds of capabilities, whether they would be medical or economic
or anything along those lines -- education -- all of those are more than
welcome,'' Michael Mullen said at a news briefing. ''They're needed and they're
welcome.''
The top U.S. military officer also said Tokyo's refueling mission in the Indian
Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan
is ''significant.''
In the several years of the mission, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
has been refueling foreign vessels taking part in the U.S.-led crackdown on
ships linked to terrorism.
Mullen did not mention Japan's possible dispatch of its Ground-Self Defense
Force to Afghanistan, an idea floated by the administration of former President
George W. Bush and declined by Tokyo.
The Navy admiral said Afghanistan and Pakistan are Washington's top military
priority. He also painted a bleak picture of the security situation in
Afghanistan.
''The risk of where we are in Afghanistan right now in terms of outcomes, I
think...is pretty high right now because it's not going well and it hasn't been
going well for a significant period of time,'' he said.
President Barack Obama has promised to fulfill a campaign pledge to withdraw
all troops from Iraq within 16 months while redeploying some of the troops to
Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida.
Also Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said before the Senate Armed
Services Committee that Afghanistan now poses ''the greatest military
challenge'' to the United States.
''There is little doubt that our greatest military challenge right now is
Afghanistan,'' he said. ''President Obama has made it clear that the
Afghanistan theater should be our top military priority.''
Gates said the United States could deploy two more brigades to Afghanistan by
late spring and another brigade by mid-summer, while drawing down U.S. forces
in Iraq.
''While this will undoubtedly be a long and difficult fight, we can attain what
I believe should be among our strategic objectives: an Afghan people who do not
provide a safe haven for al-Qaida, reject the rule of the Taliban and support
the legitimate government that they elected and in which they have a stake,''
he said.
Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has requested
30,000 more troops for the country to nearly double the 35,000 U.S. troops
currently stationed there.
Gates said U.S. objectives in Afghanistan should be ''limited,'' acknowledging
the difficulties of stabilizing the country and doubting the chances for
success of an ambitious nation-building project.
''My own personal view is that our primary goal is to prevent Afghanistan from
being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States
and our allies,'' he said.
==Kyodo
2009-01-28 22:32:46
