US: Financial woes no excuse in funding Afghan war

By Associated Press
Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Added 364d 8h ago

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CORNWALLIS, Nova Scotia - Even in a global financial crisis, the world cannot afford to skimp on its obligations to Afghanistan, which wants to double the size of its army but will never be able to pay for it, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.

Gates said some characterizations of backsliding in the 7-year-old Afghan war are too dire, but he said violence is up. Nations with fighting forces in Afghanistan and those without must respond, Gates said Friday after a day of strategy talks with British, Canadian and other defense ministers with troops fighting alongside Americans in Afghanistan’s closely contested south.

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Photo by AP

Canadian Minister of National Defense Peter MacKay, center, shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates walks past at the conclusion of a news conference on Friday in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.