"In London today, the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, warned that progress needed to be made. "In all coalition countries the public expects to see us move in the right direction [but] will not tolerate the perception of a stalemate, where we are losing our young men."
Somebody forgot to tell Gates; perhaps it's all in the eyes of the perceiver...:
- November 7, 2008: "[Senator John McCain] said NATO forces are at a stalemate with insurgents... "It's a stalemate that exists and we're going to need additional troops."
- December 28, 2006: "Militarily, 2006 has been a stalemate. This is a victory for the Taliban, who have all the time in the world; for us, time and money and an exasperated home front are a ticking clock." [Toronto Star, "Our surreal Afghan mission."]
- September 2, 2007: "A year after Canadian and American forces drove hundreds of Taliban fighters from the area, the Panjwai and Zhare districts southwest of Kandahar, the rebels are back and have adopted new tactics. Carrying out guerrilla attacks after NATO troops partly withdrew in July, they overran isolated police posts and are now operating in areas where they can mount attacks on Kandahar, the south's largest city. The setback is part of a bloody stalemate that has occurred between NATO troops and Taliban fighters across southern Afghanistan this summer." [New York Times, "Afghan Police Suffer Setbacks as Taliban Adapt."
- January 2008: "On the ground, the situation has gradually settled into a strategic stalemate." [Atlantic Council of the United States, "Saving Afghanistan: An Appeal and Plan for Urgent Action." At the time of this report's publication Obama's current National Security Advisor, (Ret.) Gen. James Jones, was Chairman of the Council].
- December 2, 2008: "Declaring Afghanistan to be the central front in the struggle against terrorism, Mr. Obama talked during the campaign of sending at least two more combat brigades to Afghanistan — in effect staking the reputation of his new national security team on the outcome of that war, which appears to be stalemated, at best." [New York Times, "Afghan Strategy Poses Stiff Challenge for Obama."]
- May 1, 2009: " Lots of good things are happening but in Afghanistan there's still a stalemate, the Taliban are still strong, or the security is deteriorating." ["Nato strategist Jamie Shea gives chilling insight into military’s media control at times of war."