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| David Petraeus (Image: Wiki Commons) |
Retired U.S general David Petraeus said recently that the U.S needs to stay in Afghanistan and that in being in the country the U.S has a “useful platform there for the regional counterterrorist effort.”
Speaking to PBS NEWSHOUR, Petraeus, who commanded American and coalition forces in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said: “I think what we need to get to in Afghanistan is a sustainable, measuring the expenditure of blood and treasure, a sustainable, sustained commitment. We need to recognize that we went there for a reason and we stayed for a reason, to ensure that Afghanistan is not once again a sanctuary for al-Qaeda or other transnational extremists, the way it was when the 9/11 attacks were planned there.
“That’s why we need to stay. We also have a very useful platform there for the regional counterterrorist effort. And, of course, we have greatly reduced the capabilities of al-Qaeda’s senior leaders in that region, including, of course, taking out Osama bin Laden.
“But this is a generational struggle. This is not something that is going to be won in a few years. We’re not going to take a hill, plant a flag, go home to a victory parade. And we need to be there for the long haul, but in a way that is, again, sustainable.”
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