US Army Colonel bashes US claims of success in Afghanistan

US Army Colonel bashes US claims of success in Afghanistan

A US Army officer has accused the American military of painting a misleading picture of progress in the war in Afghanistan while glossing over the Kabul government’s many failings.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis deliberately broke ranks with the official portrayal of the war after spending a year in the country, issuing a grim assessment and accusing his superiors of covering up the harsh realities that plague the mission.

“What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by US military leaders about conditions on the ground,” Davis wrote in an article published in Armed Forces Journal, a private newspaper not affiliated with the Pentagon.

“Instead, I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level,” he wrote under the headline, “Truth, Lies And Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down.”

Local Afghan government officials are failing to serve the Afghan population and their security forces are reluctant to fight insurgents or are colluding with the Taliban, he wrote.

“How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding and behind an array of more than seven years of optimistic statements by US senior leaders in Afghanistan?” he said in his article.

Davis has also reportedly shared his pessimistic view with some members of Congress and written a classified version of his article for the Defence Department, a highly unusual move that he expects will anger his commanders and short-circuit his professional
career.

The Pentagon politely disagreed with Davis’s portrayal of the war but stopped short of suggesting any disciplinary action.

“Lieutenant Colonel Davis is obviously entitled to his opinion,” spokesman George Little told reporters, adding that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “has very strong confidence in his commanders in Afghanistan, as they provide assessments of what’s happening
on the ground in the war.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=11916

Posted by Ammar Ahmad on Feb 7 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry