Afghan war assessment sticks to July troop draw down
By which time the Afghan army will BE the Taliban. But NOT Al QuaedaTop story: An assessment of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan determined that the United States can stick to President Barack Obama's pledge to begin withdrawing troops from the country in July 2011. A five-page unclassified version of the report, which is the first comprehensive review of the new strategy that Obama announced last December, was released to the public on Thursday.
The report points to several areas where the United States has made progress in achieving its goals in Afghanistan. It cites success in "disrupting and dismantling" al Qaeda networks in Pakistan, and headway made by U.S. troops in reducing the Taliban's influence in the southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
However, the report also notes the difficulties that continue to bedevil the U.S. war effort. It emphasizes, for example, Pakistan's unwillingness to shut down insurgent safe havens along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Notably, the report avoids mentioning corruption within the Afghan government as a significant problem, in line with the administration's strategy of not publicly pressuring Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The administration has yet to determine the scale of the troop withdrawal in July 2011, saying that it will be determined by conditions on the ground. The report said that the Afghan army would be entrusted with taking the lead in providing security across the country by 2014.
