Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW editor, second from left, speaks at anti-war forum, March 17, 2007. To his right is Andrea Egypt of MECAWI, with panelists from the Windsor Peace Coalition on each side.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
19:13 Mecca time, 16:13 GMT
US faces 'challenge' in Afghanistan
Gates is considering an increase in US troop numbers for Afghanistan
Afghanistan is now the United States's "greatest military challenge", the US defence secretary has said.
But Robert Gates warned on Tuesday the lack of troops meant the US had not provided "a baseline level of security" against Taliban forces and he was considering increasing the number of US soldiers.
He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US could still face "a difficult fight" in the country.
Gates, the only Republican to retain a position in the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, told the committee that co-ordination with international forces in Afghanistan to combat Taliban fighters had been "less than stellar".
"Too often the whole of these activities has added up to less than the sum of the parts," he said.
'Civilians killed'
Gates' remarks came amid anger in Afghanistan over claims that a US military raid in the eastern Afghanistan province of Laghman at the weekend killed least 16 civilians.
The US military has denied the claims and said that 15 Taliban fighters died in the operation.
Gates also said that the Pentagon's efforts in Afghanistan to combat the insurgency following the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, would in the future include better counter-insurgency training for US and international forces and efforts to improve "civil-military" co-ordination for reconstruction efforts.
"We can attain what I believe should be among our strategic objectives: An Afghan people who do not provide a safe haven for al-Qaeda, reject the rule of the Taliban and support the legitimate government that they elected and in which they have a stake," he said.
Obama has vowed to shift military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan, both which he says form the central front in the struggle against "terrorism".
Gates also praised Pakistan as "a friend and partner" and said any solution to the Afghan conflict required strong relations with Pakistan given the porous border between the two nations.
Last week he appointed Richard Holbrooke, a veteran US diplomat, as special envoy to both countries.
Iraq stability
Gates said that although violence remained low in Iraq there was "still the potential" for setbacks.
He described the prospect of a stable Iraq as "crucial to the Middle East", but warned against looking for a swift resolution to the conflict.
"As our military presence decreases over time, we should still expect to be involved in Iraq on some level for some many years to come," he said.
US forces are currently due to withdraw from major Iraqi cities by the end of June this year and from the country by 2012, as part of a US-Iraq agreement.
The US currently has about 34,000 troops in Afghanistan and around 142,000 troops in Iraq.
Source: Agencies
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