Well, at least, not yet. I expect Baker, Albright and various others to come out of woodwork and explain how this is going to keep the Afghanis, et al from taking care of their own problems. Or, exacerbating existing tribal feuds. Or, something.
On Monday, the Pentagon formally announced that a Marine Air-Ground task force, including the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, will go to Afghanistan in November to replace the two Marine units there now. The battalion is based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and will be supplemented with aviation, headquarters and logistics units from across the Marine Corps.The generals in Iraq do have some concerns about withdrawing too fast. The same line they've held for awhile.
The two Marine units now in Afghanistan total nearly 3,900 Marines.
The Army's 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division _ based at Fort Drum, N.Y., and numbering up to 3,700 soldiers _ will head to Afghanistan in January, rather than to Iraq as initially planned.
"You can rush to failure here if you're not careful," Austin said. "You really have to make sure that all the elements are in place to guarantee sustainable security _ the army, the police, the border enforcement agencies."
Heh. Looks like no one is talking about it here, either!