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MILITARY OFFICIALS WARN AFGHANISTAN RUNNING OUT OF AFGHANS

July 8 2009

Washington, D.C. – It has been said that the current conflict in Afghanistan is simply a continuation of nearly endless attempts to conquer the land. Immediately, US support for the Mujahedeen against Soviet troops led to the rise of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, which in turn has led to the current conflict. Beyond that though the current
conflict in the region is an extension of the long sought after desire for control of the region. From Genghis Khan to the modern day Afghanistan has been a wild land that no one, not even Afghans, has been able to tame. That reality is something American forces are now starting to realize.

In a press conference with Pentagon reporters today, top Marine office Brigadier General Larry Nicholson stated matter-of-factly that his forces needed more Afghan troops in order to further stabilize the country. With thousands more US troops scheduled to arrive in the country by the end of the year, the continued stabilization of the country depends largely on domestic forces. The Pentagon has been forming plans to move more Afghan troops into the region, the lack of training and the relatively low number of living able-bodied Afghans across the country is significantly compromising their efforts.

“The number one question we get from the people is, ‘when are you leaving?’ The answer is we're not leaving until the transition for security is made to the provincial government, to include the Afghan forces,” said General Nicholson “I'm not going to sugar coat it. The fact of the matter is, we don't have enough Afghan forces and I'd like more.”

US forces have continued to train the limited number of Afghan forces in the country but the process is expected to take months. That process is also being hampered by the limited number of adult men in the country who could potentially perform as soldiers.

“There’s little doubt that the war has been devastating to the people in the country but I don’t think we have had as clear a portrait as this of the devastation wrought
both by the American forces and the Taliban before them. With such a limited and dwindling population it is going to be very difficult for American forces to leave anytime soon if they want to leave a stable and potentially viable country,” said Scrape TV International Conflict analyst Mario Martinez. “Alternatively of course they could start training women though that may not go over all that well. If they do want to leave the country in a better spot than it was, and avoid the potential vacuum effect that would cause more problems in the long term than they may have to stick around until new generation grow up.”

Pentagon officials have not yet set a plan for beefing up the Afghan population but speculation persists that they may begin to engage in active breeding with Afghans as a way to increase the number of bodies in the field and provide satisfying R and R to the troops stationed there.

“There would be advantages and disadvantages to a plan like that. The offspring would benefit from strong genes which could potentially make them strong soldiers but they would also be burdened with ethnic differences and inevitably absent parents. After all most of the soldiers and marines stationed there won’t even be around to the
see the births never mind help raise them into potentially strong soldiers. That might end up putting them in the same spot they are in now,” continued Martinez. “Cloning of course would be a possibility but is still years away and could be very costly. The truth is though that Americans can’t stay in the country and could not possibly conquer it so they need to come up with some way of boosting the population numbers quickly and efficiently and then just get out of there as quickly as possible. Sticking around in Afghanistan for too long will cause all kinds of drama in the long term.”

Adding to the woes, training has been limited because of the lack of live targets for rifle practice.

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent

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