Bush Is Screwing Up in Afghanistan Too: New NATO Cmdr. Comments

Remember that other war?  The one we largely abandoned for the Iraq misadventure?  Read what the British NATO commander says.

The bottom line -- and I've studied this war extensively -- we had all this good will but squandered it by inept project managment and insufficient resources.

  Oct 17, 9:51 PM EDT
Commander: Mistakes Made in Afghanistan
By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan failed to follow through as it should have after ousting the Taliban government in 2001, setting the stage for this year's deadly resurgence, the NATO commander in the country said Tuesday.

The mistake consisted of adopting "a peacetime approach" too early, British Gen. David Richards told Pentagon reporters. He said the international community has six months to correct the problem before losing Afghan support, reiterating a warning he issued last week.

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Progress on security, rebuilding and good government didn't meet Afghan expectations, and this year the "Taliban exploited ... this sense of frustration amongst the people," Richards said in a televised conference from Afghanistan.

While it is unusual for a commander to criticize an ongoing military operation, Richards' comments came days after another British officer offered a much harsher assessment of the other U.S.-led war, in Iraq.

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