Washington: The senior American general in Afghanistan is predicting success for President Barack Obama's revamped war strategy, telling Congress it's the best available approach.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and his political counterpart, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, told House and Senate committees Tuesday that they fully support the Obama plan even though it does not reflect fully their initial preferences.
To probe further, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday was calling Eikenberry and Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander for the greater Middle East, to jointly testify on the new U.S. approach.
McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he believes the Taliban can be defeated; he defined that as weakening the militants to a point that they no longer are capable of threatening the Afghan government. His first objective, though, is to reverse the momentum the Taliban have acquired in recent years.
McChrystal cautioned against expecting immediate results, but he said progress should be evident within a year.
"Ultimate success will be the cumulative effect of sustained pressure," he said.
Eikenberry stressed the importance of widening the anti-Taliban effort to include more U.S. and NATO civilian contributions to stabilizing the country and building the credibility of the central government.
The Ambassador offered words of caution about the outlook for turning around the war. "Our forces and our civilians are trying to help a society that simultaneously wants and rejects outside intervention," he said.
He also spoke cautiously of the Afghans as partners.
"In spite of everything we do, Afghanistan may struggle to take over the essential tasks of governance," he said, adding, "If the main elements of the president's plan are executed, and if our Afghan partners and our allies do their part, I am confident we can achieve our strategic objectives."
In Afghanistan on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates toured NATO's new joint command center at the Kabul airport.
"Getting this place gives us new opportunities, especially now that there are new forces coming," he said. "We've got all the pieces coming together to be successful here."
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, December 09, 2009, 17:47