Biden Says War in Afghanistan Worth Effort, Expects More Casualties

Biden: War in Afghanistan worth effort

LONDON, July 23, 2009, (UPI) --

The war in Afghanistan is "worth the effort" to defend the interests of the United States, Britain and the rest of Europe, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said.

"It is worth the effort we are making," Biden told the BBC during his European trip.

The number of foreign troop deaths has jumped recently, and in the interview published Thursday Biden warned "more will come" during what he called "the fighting season."

He said troops were taking on Taliban militants directly for the first time in some areas of the country.

"This, unfortunately, is the fighting season. ... The trees are up in the mountains again, people are able to infiltrate from the hills of Pakistan, and in Helmand province -- where the Taliban had free rein for a number of years, we are engaging them now," Biden said. "It is a place that, if it doesn't get straightened out, will continue to wreak havoc on Europe and the United States."

During the interview, Biden praised British troops, calling them "among the best trained and bravest warriors in the world."

Biden: Expect more casualties in Afghanistan

July 23, 2009

LONDON (AP) —

The United States, Britain and other NATO allies can expect to make more sacrifices and take new casualties as the war in Afghanistan escalates, Vice President Biden said in an interview broadcast Thursday.

But Biden said the effort to secure the country ahead of Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election was worth it. He said much of the terrorism threatening the West had its roots in Afghanistan's porous border with Pakistan and that the area produced much of the world's heroin.

"It is a place that, if it doesn't get straightened out, will continue to wreak havoc on Europe and the United States," Biden told BBC radio's Today program from the Georgian capital of Tblisi.

Biden said the additional U.S. troops being poured into the country were engaging the Taliban rebels on new fronts, meaning "there is likely to be additional casualties."

Addressing a public that has been unsettled by spike in fatalities, Biden told Britons that their fight was a necessary one.

"In terms of national interest of Great Britain, the U.S. and Europe, (the war in Afghanistan) is worth the effort we are making and the sacrifice that is being felt," he said, before warning that "more will come."

Nineteen British soldiers have died in Afghanistan in July — the deadliest month of the war for both U.S. and NATO forces — as British forces have gone on the offensive in the southern Helmand province. The deaths have raised questions about Britain's role in Afghanistan and doubts over whether the U.K. military has the proper equipment for the offensive.

One outgoing British minister broke ranks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday by insisting that forces in Afghanistan did not have enough helicopters — a claim Brown denied.

Biden refused to step into the debate, saying only that he assumed British soldiers had all they needed.

In comments carried on the BBC's website, Biden said the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba would close before the end of the year as planned. Six months after President Obama signed the order to close the facility, fewer than 20 of about 245 inmates have been moved from the prison.

Biden said the administration was still going through detainees' records.

"We expect before January — well before January — we will have a decision on each and every individual being held," he said.

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