Gen. Wesley Clark calls for exit from Afghanistan

Local Editor, 20-11-2009

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark -- the onetime Democratic candidate for president -- told Congress Tuesday in little-reported remarks that the United States should begin planning for an exit from Afghanistan, breaking ranks with Obama's current Afghan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

The former Supreme Allied Commander of US forces Europe reminded Congress of the "legacy of Vietnam" in considering the US strategy in Afghanistan. Obama's commanders have called for an increase of as many as 60,000 troops in the war-torn country.

You've got to "figure out where you're going," Clark told the House Armed Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations. "How do we get out of here? Because our presence long term there is not a good thing. We're playing into the hands of people who don't like foreigners in a country that's not tolerant of diversity. And that's not going to change."

Clark pressed Congress to begin devising an exit strategy from the country. He said that the US should strengthen its relationship with Pakistan and work with the Pakistani government to target al Qaeda, while diminishing its presence in neighboring Afghanistan. He also argued that economic development in Afghanistan was important.

If the US were to increase its forces in Afghanistan, Clark said, a exit strategy should be in place first.