Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:35:51 GMT CIA Director Leon Panetta has admitted the war in Afghanistan has become tougher and slower amid a surge in Taliban attacks against foreign troops in the country. Less than a week after General Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his duties as the top commander of all US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the CIA chief has expressed concerns about the unanticipated intricacy of the nine-year-old war against the Taliban in the country, saying attacks on foreign troops is on the rise. "I think the Taliban obviously is engaged in greater violence right now. They are doing more on IED`S (improvised explosive devices). They are going after our troops. There's no question about that." Panetta said. Speaking to the ABC network's "This Week" program on Sunday, Panetta added, "we are making progress. It's harder, it's slower than I think anyone anticipated", AFP reported. Asked about NATO and Washington's problems in dealing with the growing militancy in the country run by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the CIA chief responded: "We're dealing with a tribal society. We're dealing with a country that has problems with governance, problems with corruption, problems with narcotics trafficking, problems with a Taliban insurgency." The remarks come as in the latest development in Afghanistan on Sunday two more US troops were killed and six others injured during attacks launched by the Taliban. The fatalities have pushed the number of foreign troops killed so far this month to 92 as June has shaped up to be the deadliest month for US-led soldiers in Afghanistan. Karzai holds secret talks with Taliban Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:09:32 GMT
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has reportedly met with the Taliban's most senior commander Serja-eddin Haggani in Kabul as UK calls for peace with the militants. The report said the meeting was mediated by Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services intelligence (ISI). The talks come as NATO forces are experiencing some of their bloodiest days in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country began in 2001. Haggani has been reported to have close ties with the ISI and al-Qaeda group. Haggani's group has carried out most of the sophisticated terrorist operations in Afghanistan. The meeting also comes as British army chief has called for talks with the Taliban militants in the war-weary country. General David Richards has insisted that negotiations with the Taliban should begin soon as part of an exit strategy for NATO. Moreover, US officials have also been pressing, covertly as well as overtly, for opportunities to hold negotiations with the Taliban using Pakistan as an intermediary. Previously, however, both the US and the UK had insisted that they would never negotiate with terrorists, vowing to uproot the Taliban and their operatives in the region. Observers believe the new Western strategy reflects yet another double standard in terms of their slogan of "war against terror." Richards added that any counter-insurgency campaign will end up in talks between the warring sides. Senior officials in the UK have floated the idea of engaging in peace talks with the Taliban -- the militant group whose uprooting was one the main objectives of the 2001 invasion. This is while a Guardian report said in late May that US army helicopters regularly deliver supplies behind Taliban lines and even fund their madrasas (religious schools). The paper said if the US wanted to remove the Taliban, as it promised in 2001, the thousands of international troops stationed in the country could easily crush a couple of thousands of militants in Helmand. The Taliban were toppled in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by US-led forces. The invasion of Afghanistan was launched with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the country. Nine years on, however, Afghanistan remains largely unstable with innocent civilians continuing to pay the heaviest price. |
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