(CBS/AP) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has given a frank assessment of the challenges still facing Afghanistan seven years after the U.S. invasion to oust the Taliban and defeat Islamic extremism in the crucial country.
Speaking to reporters on her way to London for a day of strategy talks with senior British officials, Rice acknowledged the Taliban "have by no means been defeated and they remain a challenge," reports CBS News State Department reporter Charles Wolfson.
Rice said she thought Afghanistan was "moving forward", but she said there were still serious challenges along the border with Pakistan - where many senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding out in the mountainous terrain - as well as concerns over Afghanistan's growing opium poppy production.
In talks Wednesday with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Rice will discuss NATO's continuing role in Afghanistan, reports Wolfson. The Bush administration has committed an additional 3,000 Marines to the fight the Taliban, and is asking its NATO allies to increase their troop commitments as well.
Rice called the ongoing discussions with other NATO members about sending additional troops "bumpy", adding, "there's a lot of maturing the alliance needs to do."
Another issue Rice was expected to bring up with Miliband and Brown is the "training and mentoring" of Afghan army troops and police, aimed at enabling the Afghans to deal with militants themselves and rely less on the international community for security assistance.
In addition to Afghanistan, Rice was expected to talk about Iraq, Kosovo and another round of sanctions against Iran, which the United Nations Security Council is now considering.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/06/world/main3796793.shtml
1 comment:
Rice is going to discuss Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo and the UN..............pa leeze, who would want to listen to her? Look at the mess she has not been able to get a grip on. Just clueless.
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