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US Defense Secretary Visits Afghan Taliban Birthplace

VOA News
03 September 2010

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday visited U.S. troops in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, the spiritual homeland of the Taliban and the center of the latest U.S. efforts to oust Islamic militants.

Gates warned troops there will be more tough days ahead as they fight to oust Taliban insurgents and help create a secure Afghanistan. The U.S. defense secretary met with about 100 soldiers Friday at a U.S. military base near Kandahar City, saying their success in the area will make a difference to NATO's counter-insurgency campaign.

He offered condolences to the troops for the recent loss of eight soldiers in insurgent attacks, including seven last Monday. One soldier asked Gates if the U.S. military will target safe havens in Pakistan used by militants to cross into Afghanistan to attack NATO forces. Gates responded that the likelihood of direct U.S. military engagement in Pakistan is "very low."

He said Pakistan shares the U.S. objective to eliminate these safe havens, but cautioned that the recent nationwide flooding there will delay any offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region. Many militants have fled to North Waziristan in the past year to escape Pakistani offensives in neighboring regions.

In violence Thursday, NATO says a grenade attack wounded a parliamentary candidate and another Afghan civilian at the governor's compound in Ghazni city. On the same day, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said a U.S. air strike killed 10 election campaigners traveling with a parliamentary candidate, Abdul Wahid Khorasani, who was wounded.

Gates met with Mr. Karzai on Thursday and disputed the Afghan leader's account of the incident but promised to investigate. Civilian casualties resulting from NATO operations have been a major source of tension between the alliance and the Afghan government.

In a separate development, NATO says Afghan and coalition forces discovered seven imprisoned Afghan nationals during a raid Thursday targeting a senior Taliban leader in Helmand province. The prisoners were taken to a nearby base to undergo medical screening. NATO said two insurgents were killed during the raid.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.