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Afghan War 'Tougher Than Iraq': Envoy

'I have never seen anything like the mess we have inherited'

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 8, 2009 12:26 PM CST

(Newser) – The fight to combat terrorism in Afghanistan is “going to be much tougher than Iraq,” President Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan predicted today. “It is going to be a long, difficult struggle,” Richard Holbrooke added while speaking in Munich. The comments come as two US soldiers and two Afghans were killed while trying to disable a bomb, the BBC reports.

Gen. David Petraeus also warned that the Afghan situation was likely to get worse before improving, and Obama’s national security adviser said a plan to double the number of US troops in Afghanistan would not be enough. “It’s the cohesion of the international effort that has to be better put together in order to be successful,” Gen. James Jones said.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke is pictured at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The architect of the US surge in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, urged measures for Afghanistan similar to those in Iraq, warning Afghanistan was likely to get harder before things improved. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Soldiers of Pakistan's paramilitary force guard a road leading to neighboring Afghanistan, in Pakistani tribal area of Khyber on Friday, Feb. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Qazi Tariq)

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What is required in my view is new ideas, better coordination within the US government, better coordination with our NATO allies and other concerned countries, and the time to get it right. - Richard Holbrooke, envoy to Afghanistan

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

justme

Feb 10, 2009 6:11 AM CST

Because the best the EU has been able to do is complain about US actions. They are so overloaded with their own cradle to grave social service spending that they have no military budget that allows for intervention larger than token forces.

justme

Feb 9, 2009 6:37 AM CST

This was a country with no government, no social organization larger than scattered tribes. It is overrun with foreign fighters, many still hurting from the losses they took in Iraq. It is now the front for the war against Muslim extremist terrorism. It will be a long but absolutely necessary struggle.

AmericaPrevails

Feb 8, 2009 9:51 PM CST

Above add/statement: "paid for by the American taxpayer." lol. Yeah, I agree it's very necessary, but I think the EU and the Israeli's can pitch a few billion into the money bowl. Maybe even the Chinese? Why are we stuck policing the world on our own?

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Iraq • Afghanistan • terrorism • David Petraeus • James Jones • Richard Holbrooke

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Afghan War 'Tougher Than Iraq': Envoy