NATO FMs Agree to Stay in Afghanistan Despite Mounting Deaths

Stoltenberg: Soaring death toll might be a good sign

Jason Ditz 

Posted onDecember 5, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsAfghanistan, NATO

During meetings in Brussels, the foreign ministers of NATO member nations have agreed that the soaring death toll among Afghan troops is concerning, but will not impact NATO’s continued involvement in the war, saying they remain committed for long-term involvement in Afghanistan.

This is noteworthy as before there was little admission that the war in Afghanistan was going poorly. This comes a day after a US general admitted that the death toll among Afghan troops is “unsustainable.”

Not that officials are admitting that they’ll continue on failing in so many words. Indeed, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claimed the soaring death toll might be a positive sign, saying that sometimes a spike in deaths comes just before “it becomes better.”

No one really expects the Afghan War, over 17 years in, to suddenly become better, of course. Rather, the alliance just isn’t at a point where it’s ready to drop support for the conflict, and that means they’ll feign commitment to continue the war forever.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/12/05/nato-fms-agree-to-stay-in-afghanistan-despite-mounting-deaths/