Afstan: Looks like more Americans needed for a long war

That's what the Australian defence minister and the Chief of the Defence Force think:

An additional 10,000 troops are required to quell a Taliban and al-Qaida insurgency in southern Afghanistan but European NATO partners appear unwilling to deploy more soldiers, Australia's defense minister said Thursday.

"At least 10,000 (more troops) would give us the critical mass necessary to do what we need to do on the military front," Joel Fitzgibbon told The Associated Press at his office in the Australian capital Canberra.

"Having spoken to a number of European countries over the course of the last four months, I don't see a lot of hope that anyone else is about to put their hand up anytime soon. That's a worry because if they (troops) don't come, progress will continue to be all too slow," he said.

The United States currently contributes 33,000 of the 51,000 troops in the 40-nation International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Canada currently has about 2,500 troops serving in the country. Fitzgibbon said he expected Washington would send more troops to Afghanistan as it withdrew others from Iraq.

"Because of the strength of the United States' commitment, I think if it (a troop deployment) doesn't come from others ... they (the U.S.) will do more," he said.

He said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whom he met at an international security conference in Singapore last weekend, agreed with the need to substantially increase troop numbers in Afghanistan.

"He's certainly given me the impression that the United States remains absolutely committed to the project and he's certainly given me the impression that there's likely to be continuity on that issue across the administration regardless of who wins in November," Fitzgibbon said, referring to upcoming U.S. presidential elections.

Fitzgibbon said Australia was already carrying its fair share of the burden with 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, the 10th-largest national contribution and the largest outside NATO...

The head of Australia's defence force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, told a Senate inquiry Wednesday the military campaign in Afghanistan "will last at least 10 years."

Fitzgibbon said Thursday military operations could take less time with adequate resources, although reconstruction of the country will take longer.

"I still believe ... the military efforts will be something much less than 10 years, but there are no guarantees," he said [emphasis added].

Fitzgibbon said he was disappointed that some European countries would not make a greater military effort in Afghanistan. He declined to name them, however, saying it would be counterproductive...

I can't wait to see how our opposition and media react to Air Chief Marshal Houston's remarks--if they notice them in a timely fashion. But in any event we're outta there (at least Kandahar) in 2011, right?

Via Norman's Spectator.