Gates Visits New NATO Afghan Command Center
VOA News 09 December 2009
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the new Afghan strategy announced by President Barack Obama will give NATO and U.S. forces what they need to successfully defeat the Taliban.
During a tour of a new NATO command headquarters at the Kabul airport, Gates said international forces "have all the pieces coming together to be successful." He said better cooperation among NATO, U.S. and Afghan forces will improve their effectiveness.
Also Wednesday, a top U.S. commander said that civilians may have been among those killed in a NATO-led attack in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday.
Lieutenant General David Rodriguez spoke with reporters following allegations from senior Afghan officials that NATO troops killed several civilians during a raid on a suspected militant compound in Laghman province.
NATO officials initially denied allegations of civilian casualties. The Afghan government has ordered an investigation into the incident.
On Tuesday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen, told VOA that the military considers each civilian death "a strategic failure" that undermines the overall mission in Afghanistan. He said foreign troops have been focused on eliminating civilian casualties ever since General McChrystal took charge in Afghanistan, and that they have recorded a "significant reduction" in such casualties.
Wednesday, U.S. officials announced they are not renewing the contract of the private security company guarding the U.S. embassy in Kabul, which was embroiled in controversy earlier this year. The State Department said it is cutting its ties with ArmorGroup North America when the contract expires next June.
In September, officials said 16 private guards who were involved in wild partying and hazing had been removed from the embassy. Employees of the company had alleged that some of the guards had brought prostitutes into their secured living quarters, and that they drew Afghans into activities forbidden by Muslims, such as drinking alcohol.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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