Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Palm Beach Post
April 4, 2008 By Ron Hayes, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — The U.S. military and its coalition forces are succeeding on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but terrorist attacks will likely increase there this year, the U.S. ambassador said Thursday.
"Two thousand and seven was a great year," Ambassador William Wood told the monthly luncheon meeting of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion. "The insurgents lost troops, leaders and territory."
However, Wood said, this will lead to an increase in terror attacks in that country as insurgents try to compensate for their losses on the battlefield by intimidating the local populations. "And terror intimidates," he said.
Wood, who served as U.S. ambassador to Colombia before moving to the Afghan embassy a year ago, spoke for about 45 minutes, offering an overview of the country, its problems and what the United States is doing to establish a viable democracy there.
"Afghanistan is the place in the middle," Wood said - poor at a level Americans cannot comprehend, yet politically and strategically important because of its proximity to Iran, Pakistan, Russia, India and China.
The U.S. and 18 other nations have lost personnel there, Wood noted, and France's decision Thursday to commit another 700 troops to the country is a recognition of its importance.
"Last year wasn't just the surge year in Iraq," he said. "We also provided more training and equipment to the Afghan army than from 2002 to 2006 combined. Their army will reach 70,000 by September and 80,000 by March 2009."
This year, diplomatic efforts will focus on the country's most troubled localities.
"Seventy percent of the violence is occurring in 10 percent of the counties," Wood said, "so we're going to provide the people of those counties with a reason to be on the right side."
Elections will be held sometime between June and September, he predicted.
"The idea is to win the people," Wood said, "not just to defeat the enemy. The people will not make the hard decisions today to make Afghanistan better if they don't believe it can be better."
As of Saturday, 422 U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and another 1,911 wounded, of whom 1,166 were not able to return to action.
April 4, 2008 By Ron Hayes, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — The U.S. military and its coalition forces are succeeding on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but terrorist attacks will likely increase there this year, the U.S. ambassador said Thursday.
"Two thousand and seven was a great year," Ambassador William Wood told the monthly luncheon meeting of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion. "The insurgents lost troops, leaders and territory."
However, Wood said, this will lead to an increase in terror attacks in that country as insurgents try to compensate for their losses on the battlefield by intimidating the local populations. "And terror intimidates," he said.
Wood, who served as U.S. ambassador to Colombia before moving to the Afghan embassy a year ago, spoke for about 45 minutes, offering an overview of the country, its problems and what the United States is doing to establish a viable democracy there.
"Afghanistan is the place in the middle," Wood said - poor at a level Americans cannot comprehend, yet politically and strategically important because of its proximity to Iran, Pakistan, Russia, India and China.
The U.S. and 18 other nations have lost personnel there, Wood noted, and France's decision Thursday to commit another 700 troops to the country is a recognition of its importance.
"Last year wasn't just the surge year in Iraq," he said. "We also provided more training and equipment to the Afghan army than from 2002 to 2006 combined. Their army will reach 70,000 by September and 80,000 by March 2009."
This year, diplomatic efforts will focus on the country's most troubled localities.
"Seventy percent of the violence is occurring in 10 percent of the counties," Wood said, "so we're going to provide the people of those counties with a reason to be on the right side."
Elections will be held sometime between June and September, he predicted.
"The idea is to win the people," Wood said, "not just to defeat the enemy. The people will not make the hard decisions today to make Afghanistan better if they don't believe it can be better."
As of Saturday, 422 U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and another 1,911 wounded, of whom 1,166 were not able to return to action.