US: Afghan War Review Shows 'Fragile, Reversible' Progress
VOA News
16 December 2010
A new U.S. government review of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan shows progress against insurgents, but that these security gains remain "fragile and reversible."
President Obama's review of policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan says U.S. strategy remains focused on Pakistan-based al-Qaida because of the type of threat posed by its leadership.
The review, which was released on Thursday, says al-Qaida's senior leadership has been depleted and its safe haven in Pakistan is smaller and less secure, but al-Qaida remains a threat and continues to target the United States.
Taliban momentum in Afghanistan has been arrested and reversed in some areas, according to the review, but the gains remain "fragile and reversible."
It also says the U.S. relationship with Pakistan is "substantial, but also uneven," and that greater cooperation is needed from Pakistan to deny safe havens to terrorists who inhabit border areas with Afghanistan.
The review comes one year after President Barack Obama announced the surge of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. It says the U.S. strategy is setting the conditions to begin withdrawing U.S. forces as planned, in 2011. Mr. Obama is due to discuss the review later Thursday.
Meantime, a new poll from The Washington Post and ABC News shows support for the war in Afghanistan has reached a new low.
The survey says a record-high 60 percent of Americans think the war is not worth fighting, compared to 34 percent who say it is.
At the same time last year, 44 percent of Americans said they did not think the war was worth fighting.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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