AFP, Washington :
US foreign policies have left its allies confused and may cause it to lose the war against extremists in Afghanistan and the Middle East, warn retired American generals.
In a series of testimonies before the new, Republican-dominated Congress, the generals have also suggested keeping US forces in Afghanistan longer than the Obama administration desires.
The new Congress, which took charge earlier this month, may like this argument as the Republicans, who now dominate both the chambers, also share these views.
“America needs a refreshed national security strategy,” Gen. James Mattis, a former commander of US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane argued that the United States should keep its forces in Afghanistan beyond the 2016 deadline imposed by the Obama administration.
“The Afghan National Security Force does not have the capability to deal with that harsh reality” of Afghanistan, he said, while claiming that the Haqqanis still had “safe havens in the east.”
Admiral William Fallon, also a former Centcom chief, criticised US President Barack Obama’s preference for ending wars on a preconceived deadline.
All three argued that instead of taking initiatives, the United States was only reacting to whatever was happening around the world.
“We need to … come out from our reactive crouch and take a firm, strategic stance in defence of our values,” said Gen. Mattis.
He claimed that in Iraq, the United States had a “strategy-free” while in Afghanistan it was busy implanting a pre-conceived deadline.
US foreign policies have left its allies confused and may cause it to lose the war against extremists in Afghanistan and the Middle East, warn retired American generals.
In a series of testimonies before the new, Republican-dominated Congress, the generals have also suggested keeping US forces in Afghanistan longer than the Obama administration desires.
The new Congress, which took charge earlier this month, may like this argument as the Republicans, who now dominate both the chambers, also share these views.
“America needs a refreshed national security strategy,” Gen. James Mattis, a former commander of US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane argued that the United States should keep its forces in Afghanistan beyond the 2016 deadline imposed by the Obama administration.
“The Afghan National Security Force does not have the capability to deal with that harsh reality” of Afghanistan, he said, while claiming that the Haqqanis still had “safe havens in the east.”
Admiral William Fallon, also a former Centcom chief, criticised US President Barack Obama’s preference for ending wars on a preconceived deadline.
All three argued that instead of taking initiatives, the United States was only reacting to whatever was happening around the world.
“We need to … come out from our reactive crouch and take a firm, strategic stance in defence of our values,” said Gen. Mattis.
He claimed that in Iraq, the United States had a “strategy-free” while in Afghanistan it was busy implanting a pre-conceived deadline.
