VZCZCXYZ0012
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKT #0869 2641144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211144Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0770
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3232
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7447
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2781
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 5488

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000869 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INSB, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV OPRC NP
SUBJ: MEDIA REACTION: INVOLVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN AND 
IRAQ 
 
¶1.  Summary: An opinion piece titled "Obama Needs to 
Exert More" in state-owned English daily "The Rising 
Nepal," September 21, 2009 called for more results- 
oriented action from President Barack Obama to meet 
voters' expectations, especially in bringing 
normalcy to Afghanistan and Iraq. The piece is a 
summary of American involvement in these two 
countries. The writer claims that the protracted 
wars in both countries could be a "Mission 
Impossible" for foreign forces and that the failure 
to bring normalcy in Iraq and Afghanistan could pose 
serious problems to the governments involved, 
especially the American and British governments. The 
article also briefly mentions Washington's failure 
to bring Pyongyang to dialogue on the nuclear 
weapons issue. 
 
¶2.  Excerpts: " Even as the economy shows some signs 
of limping back to normalcy, President Barack Obama 
has a string of issues that need to be addressed 
with greater vigor for visibly positive results. 
When he won the presidential polls last November, 
despite an array of odds against him, and was 
formally sworn into office in January, he was hailed 
worldwide mostly for being the first black president 
of the United States. " 
 
¶3.  " The curiosity value was high; so too were the 
voters' expectations.  While the economy has always 
been the No 1 concern and priority - politics, after 
all, is basically local - US involvement in a number 
of trouble spots in different parts of the world 
could affect his records before the 2012 
presidential elections." 
 
¶4.  " When he took office eight months ago, Obama 
indicated that his administration's special foreign 
policy focus would be on, among other issues, 
Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran.  The war in 
Iraq and Afghanistan is costing heavily in terms of 
casualties and loss of prestige and money for 
especially Washington." 
 
¶5.  "Although some British newspapers have termed 
their country's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq 
"Mission Incomplete", there are fears that things 
could be even worse.  Were things to deteriorate, 
the foreign forces stations in these countries could 
find themselves engaged in a "Mission Impossible." 
The war has dragged on for eight years." 
 
¶6.  "... Syria, Cuba and Venezuela have also showed 
the limits of even the world's best-equipped 
fighting forces.  Obama once said that he was 
prepared to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il if 
a situation demanded so.  But so far Washington has 
not even been able to engage Pyongyang to holding a 
dialogue on the nuclear weapons issue." 
 
¶7.  "... Obama's popularity rating is no longer what 
it was in the first 100 days in office.  Ups and 
downs in such ratings are to be taken in stride. 
But were the US troops to return home by the 2011 
schedule while normalcy continued to elude the Iraqi 
people, American credibility would suffer heavily. 
If the Taliban in Afghanistan were to expand their 
strength and restrict the presence of the Kabul 
government in only the cities where, too, daily bomb 
blasts occur and people get killed, the governments 
involved in the war would face serious questions. 
The costs and the casualties of the foreign troops 
recorded in Iraq and Afghanistan will be issues of 
considerable consternation for especially the US and 
Britain that have made the largest and deepest 
commitment in terms of troop contributions and 
money.  The Obama administration might not be 
unaware of this." 
 
MOON