This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8404404.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| 'No quick success' in Afghanistan | 'No quick success' in Afghanistan |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| A top US general has warned that military success in Afghanistan is likely to be slower than in Iraq after the troop surge there. | A top US general has warned that military success in Afghanistan is likely to be slower than in Iraq after the troop surge there. |
| Testifying before the US Congress, Gen David Petraeus said, as in Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan was "likely to get harder before it gets easier". | Testifying before the US Congress, Gen David Petraeus said, as in Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan was "likely to get harder before it gets easier". |
| Gen Petraeus was speaking a week after President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. | Gen Petraeus was speaking a week after President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. |
| The general said he supported the announced increase in forces. | The general said he supported the announced increase in forces. |
| Gen Petraeus, who oversaw the troop surge in Iraq in 2007, said "while certainly different and, in some ways tougher than Iraq, Afghanistan is no more hopeless than Iraq was", when he assumed command there in February of that year. | Gen Petraeus, who oversaw the troop surge in Iraq in 2007, said "while certainly different and, in some ways tougher than Iraq, Afghanistan is no more hopeless than Iraq was", when he assumed command there in February of that year. |
| He said success in Afghanistan was attainable, but warned that "achieving progress... will be hard and the progress there likely will be slower in developing than was the progress achieved in Iraq". | He said success in Afghanistan was attainable, but warned that "achieving progress... will be hard and the progress there likely will be slower in developing than was the progress achieved in Iraq". |
| The general urged lawmakers to "withhold judgment on the success or failure of the strategy in Afghanistan until next December". | The general urged lawmakers to "withhold judgment on the success or failure of the strategy in Afghanistan until next December". |
| TROOPS FIGHTING THE TALIBAN US: More than 100,000 by July 2010Other foreign (mainly Nato): 32,000Afghan National Army: 94,000Afghan National Police: 81,000 Map: Foreign forces in Afghanistan | TROOPS FIGHTING THE TALIBAN US: More than 100,000 by July 2010Other foreign (mainly Nato): 32,000Afghan National Army: 94,000Afghan National Police: 81,000 Map: Foreign forces in Afghanistan |
| President Obama's policy, he said, "will over the next 18 months enable us to make important progress" in Afghanistan. | President Obama's policy, he said, "will over the next 18 months enable us to make important progress" in Afghanistan. |
| Gen Petraeus said the new strategy would help "set the conditions" for a possible withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by mid-2011. | Gen Petraeus said the new strategy would help "set the conditions" for a possible withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by mid-2011. |
| The extra forces will be deployed to Afghanistan as quickly as possible, bringing US troop strength there to more than 100,000. | The extra forces will be deployed to Afghanistan as quickly as possible, bringing US troop strength there to more than 100,000. |
| Gen Petraeus' remarks, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came a day after the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, told legislators the troop boost would make success there possible. | Gen Petraeus' remarks, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came a day after the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, told legislators the troop boost would make success there possible. |
| Gen McChrystal said the mission was "undeniably difficult" and the next 18 months would be crucial. | Gen McChrystal said the mission was "undeniably difficult" and the next 18 months would be crucial. |
| 'Vital interests' | |
| In his comments to the committee, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, said President Obama's decision "offers the best path to stabilise Afghanistan and to ensure al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups cannot regain a foothold to plan new attacks against our country or our allies". | |
| The US, he cautioned, "will not fully heal [Afghans'] deep-seated problems, but we can help them along a path to normalcy and stability that is key to protecting our own vital interests". | |
| Afghans, Ambassador Eikenberry said, "should be confident the United States is a trustworthy friend on whom they can rely after our combat forces begin to go home". | |
| But he warned that the US was unlikely to achieve its goals unless more progress was made in "eliminating the sanctuaries used by Afghan Taliban and their allied militant extremists in Pakistan". |