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In the interview, Gates compared the troubled experience of the NATO forces in the south -- primarily troops from the closest U.S. allies, Britain and Canada, as well as the Netherlands -- with progress made by American troops in the eastern part of Afghanistan. He traced the failing in part to a Cold War orientation.

"Most of the European forces, NATO forces, are not trained in counterinsurgency; they were trained for the Fulda Gap," Gates said, referring to the German region where a Soviet invasion of Western Europe was deemed most likely....

....The NATO forces are led by a U.S. commander, Army Gen. Dan McNeill, who has called for greater contributions by NATO countries. Some member nations are reluctant to deepen their involvement.

NATO officials bristled at suggestions that non-U.S. forces have been ineffective in implementing a counterinsurgency campaign. They argued that the south, home to Afghanistan's Pashtun tribal heartland that produced the Taliban movement, has long been the most militarily contested region of the country.

The European NATO official, who is directly involved in Afghan planning, angrily denounced the American claims, saying much of the violence is a result of the small number of U.S. troops who had patrolled the region before NATO's takeover in mid-2006, a strategy that allowed the Taliban to reconstitute in the region.

"The reason there is more fighting now is because we've uncovered a very big rock and lots of things are scurrying out," the NATO official said.

Pentagon concerns have risen as violence in the south has steadily increased, even as other parts of Afghanistan have begun to stabilize.

Last year was the deadliest for both U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, according to the website icasualties.org.

But both U.S. and NATO officials have expressed optimism that eastern Afghanistan, which is under the control of U.S. forces led by Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, has substantially improved in recent months.

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LA Times

Hmmm.... Not up to the job are we?

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"The reason there is more fighting now is because we've uncovered a very big rock and lots of things are scurrying out," the NATO official said.

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[ 16 January 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]

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"Most of the European forces, NATO forces, are not trained in counterinsurgency; they were trained for the Fulda Gap," Gates said, referring to the German region where a Soviet invasion of Western Europe was deemed most likely....

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And when they realized the Soviets weren't going to invade Western Europe, the OSS/CIA recruited former Nazis to run the spy ops out of West Germany. They created stay behind units, which were terrorist organizations, to orchestrate raids into Eastern Block nations - assassinate Soviet officials - and bomb infrastrucure and terrorize in general. It's still going on today with what is now the colder war.

[ 16 January 2008: Message edited by: Fidel ]

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MacKay downplays U.S. criticism of Afghan allies

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Mr. MacKay emphatically denied the criticism was aimed at Canada and that Mr. Gates telephoned to apologize for any unintended slight, claiming the remarks were misinterpreted.

"You'll note there's no reference to Canada in that statement," Mr. MacKay said, answering reporters' questions after announcing a new deal for military cargo planes.

"I take him at his word. If there's further explanation as to who he was referring to — or the specifics of that comment, you'd have to direct them to him."

Mr. MacKay insisted Mr. Gates had nothing but praise for Canadian soldiers, of whom 77 have died in fighting since 2002. The latest casualty happened Tuesday north of Kandahar.

U.S. officials in Washington explained Wednesday that Mr. Gates was not referring to any particular country but to the alliance as a whole.

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ETA: I wonder is Iraq's failures are all the fault of Australia and Britain?

[ 17 January 2008: Message edited by: Briguy ]

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Mr. MacKay insisted Mr. Gates had nothing but praise for Canadian soldiers, of whom 77 have died in fighting since 2002.

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Originally posted by unionist:

That's the problem. Those kids need more than praise. They need a flight home and a real job.

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Mr. MacKay insisted Mr. Gates had nothing but praise for Canadian soldiers, of whom 77 have died in fighting since 2002.

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[ 17 January 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]

Netherlands Objects

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The Dutch government went a step further summoning the US ambassador in The Hague to explain the comments made by Gates.

"We do not recognize ourselves in the image conjured" by Gates, Dutch Defence Secretary Eimert van Middelkoop said, arguing that Dutch troops had acted with experience and professionalism.

State Department Sean McCormack confirmed the US ambassador in The Hague was called in to clarify the remarks, but said Gates "was not directing his comments at any one country in particular, but at the alliance as a whole, which includes us."

Nearly 1,665 Dutch soldiers are deployed in Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

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Mr. MacKay, in rushing to Canada's defense, says "Americans are blaming the Brits and the Danes, not us!".

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[ 17 January 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]

I know the Canadian Forces has faults and weaknesses however the ability to adapt to the mission and correct the short coming is what is important.

Mr. Gates is most likely addressing the penchant of the allies in southern Afghanistan to use pinpoint direct fire from Canadian M777 howitzers, Dutch 155mm self-propelled guns and Danish or Canadian Leopard tanks rather than indiscriminate air strikes or house to house close combat.

Mr.Gates is referring to thepoliticalconsequences of casualties directing tactical decisions,not the quality of tactical operations. The fact that US commanders are not overly concerned with American casualties does not correlate with a better understanding of counter-insurgency tactics.

Personally, I consider Mr. Gates a run-of-the-mill American idiot who can only interpret events through the prism of Americans' attitude of superiority.

Gates again? Friggin' Microsoft!

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Diggers 'let down' Dutch allies in deadly battle with Taliban

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Illustrates some of the conflicts within NATO in regard to rules of engagement.

The Dutch still live with the Srebrinica massacre in Bosnia. The Dutch troops were ordered to leave,not by UN commanders, but by a secret order from their own government written in Dutch. UN operations are conducted in English and this Dutch government order was not shared outside the Dutch command.