Britannia Radio

Saturday, March 28, 2009

 

Times' Reporting Confirms China Confidential Sources' Criticism of Insufficient US Troop Surge

China Confidential again reported yesterday that counterinsurgency experts say the planned U.S. troop escalation in Afghanistan will be insufficient to make a meaningful impact on the outcome of the conflict there, which Washington and its ally, the corrupt Karazai government, is in serious danger of losing. Scroll for the story, headlined, "Lost War, Flawed Strategy, Doomed Diplomacy."

An article in today's edition of The New York Times provides fresh confirmation of the criticism. Correspondents Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt report:

The commanders in the field wanted a firmer and long-term commitment of more combat troops beyond the 17,000 that Mr. Obama had already promised to send, and a pledge that billions of dollars would be found to significantly expand the number of Afghan security forces.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pressed for an additional 4,000 troops to be sent to Afghanistan — but only to serve as trainers. They tempered the commanders’ request and agreed to put off any decision to order more combat troops to Afghanistan until the end of this year, when the strategy’s progress could be assessed.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 12:32 PM links to this post 

 

Dangerous Dynamic in Motion: S. Korea, US, Japan Ready to Bring N. Korea Before UN Security Council

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported today that the United States, South Korea, and Japan, in agreement that North Korea's planned, long-range rocket launch would violate a United Nations Security Council resolution, intend to bring the issue before the Security Council if the North goes ahead with the launch.

Resolution 1718 bans North Korea from engaging in ballistic missile activities. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the Security Council on October 14, 2006, five days after North Korea's nuclear test.

The missile that North Korea plans to launch, a Taepodong-2 capable of reaching Alaska and Hawaii, is expected to overfly Japan, which has ordered its defense forces to intercept any falling debris from the projectile. 

North Korea has threatened to retaliate with "strong steps" if the Security Council addresses the launch, the purpose of which, North Korea insists, is to send a satellite into space. 

China Confidential analysts say the North's retaliatory measures are likely to include: scrapping stalled, six-nation nuclear negotiations; restarting plutonium production; and, also, possibly, staging a limited military action against South Korea and a new nuclear weapon test.

North Korea is also likely to use two detained American journalists as hostages. The reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were recently taken into custody on the Chinese-North Korean border while reporting on the fate of North Korean refugees.

Jane's Defense Weekly said Friday that satellite imagery shows North Korea is nearing the final phases of the rocket launch, and that recent activity at the launch site suggests the mission is on or even ahead of schedule.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 5:40 AM links to this post