Washington Post:
Gen. David H. Petraeus told lawmakers Tuesday that the U.S. and NATO forces he commands in Afghanistan have halted the Taliban’s momentum in much of the country, but he predicted difficult fighting ahead as the radical Islamist insurgents try to regain lost territory in a spring offensive.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus said that the “hard-fought achievements in 2010 and early 2011” by U.S. and NATO forces have permitted a recommendation to shift lead security responsibility to Afghan forces in several provinces this spring.
He said these achievements also are important as he prepares to “provide options and a recommendation to President Obama for commencement of the drawdown of the U.S. surge forces in July.” He referred to Obama’s Dec. 1, 2009, speech at the U.S. Military Academy in which he pledged to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 at a pace to be determined by conditions on the ground.
In addition, Petraeus said, “the progress achieved has put us on the right azimuth to accomplish the objective agreed upon at last November’s Lisbon Summit, that of Afghan forces in the lead throughout the country by the end of 2014.”
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Whether Afghan troops are up to the task will not be known for some time. I am skeptical of their abilities and even more skeptical of their integrity. Whether they can avoid corruption will tell us whether they can turn around the current Afghan culture.
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