[url=http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/07/12/brown-afghanistan.html][color=r... comments by "coalition" leaders[/color][/url]
Gordon Brown on roadside bombs:
"There's a clear line, a chain of terror, that links what's happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain," he said.
Gordon Brown says someone is succeeding but carefully avoids saying who:
Asked if he was worried the combat operation in Helmand province could become Britain's Vietnam, Brown said: "The operation … is showing signs of success."
Barack Obama believes the insurgency is led by vampires:
"The mission in Afghanistan is one that the Europeans have as much if not more of a stake in than we do."
Brig-Gen Jonathan Vance thinks more Canadian dead and blown up means we're winning:
Mounting casualties and roadside bomb attacks are more a reflection of increased activity by the international coalition than a sign of a strengthening insurgency, Canada's top soldier in Afghanistan said in a weekend interview with The Canadian Press.
They're dying faster than we are (but no specifics on how many of them there are):
"Yes, there are times when we take killed or wounded in action, but it pales in comparison to the killed and wounded that the insurgency has taken when facing us," said Vance.
And while it may look as if we're losing, opinion polls don't lie:
He said that based on polls and informal feedback, the security situation in Kandahar province, where the Canadians are based, has improved since February 2008.