tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post212221441860624479..comments2024-03-08T13:21:43.158-05:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: Speculating About the Future of AfghanistanSteve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-20769342691661806642010-02-10T21:56:27.087-05:002010-02-10T21:56:27.087-05:00Funny that you mention Greece. As I discussed in ...Funny that you mention Greece. As I discussed in another post (http://saideman.blogspot.com/2010/01/token-allies-what-counts-as-sincere.html), Greece has only 15 guys, so they cannot cut the budget by getting out. Italy and Spain have sizable forces, but are only really paying upkeep since they are not expending much in the way of resources/effort. Still, pretty expensive and an easy way to cut deficit....Steve Saidemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-7159979336673089872010-02-10T21:50:03.678-05:002010-02-10T21:50:03.678-05:00One dimension re: continued European participation...One dimension re: continued European participation: the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) problems. All of these countries are WAY over the deficit limits for the Euro zone, and some (Greece first, but not alone) are in danger of sovereign default, absent expensive bailouts. By the way, Greece is far and away the smallest economy of that group, so bailing out Greece may just make for a MUCH more expensive bailout of Portugal or Spain later.<br /><br />If this gets pricey for the Euro zone, as it likely will, and if the Euro tanks, as it is showing signs of doing, Euro zone countries (and maybe even the UK) may not be interested in throwing money down the Afghan hole for much longer.<br /><br />Hope the event went well.Bill Ayreshttp://bajassociates.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com