Robert Gates Has His "Donald Rumsfeld" Moment

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in Afghanistan. Photo AP.

Gates Says Taliban Have Momentum In Afghanistan -- CNN

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The Taliban in Afghanistan have momentum that makes any effort to negotiate with them difficult, the U.S. defense secretary said.

Secretary Robert Gates spoke to CNN's Chris Lawrence in an exclusive interview Tuesday evening before leaving for Afghanistan, where he is visiting troops and bases Wednesday.

"The political level of the Taliban probably isn't ready to think about reconciliation or any kind of accommodation at this point," Gates said in the interview. "They probably feel like they have the momentum with them. And until that momentum changes, it will be difficult."

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My Comment: When Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense, he once mused if the U.S. was killing militants faster than radical clerics and religious schools could create them.

Secretary of Defense Gates is now thinking along the same lines with the war in Afghanistan. He clearly feels that it is the Taliban who now have the momentum and confidence to be victorious .... and that to change these battlefield dynamics the West and our Afghan allies will now have to expand the war dramatically.

While his comments are not reassuring .... at least he is now completely aware of the deteriorating situation and the consequences of defeat.