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Petraeus briefs Karzai on US Afghanistan surge
Kabul (AFP) Jan 21, 2009 Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the top US commander for southwest Asia discussed new strategies in the "war on terror" and an imminent surge of US forces to the country, Kabul said Wednesday. Karzai received General David Petraeus at the presidential palace in the Afghan capital late on Tuesday ahead of the inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington, the president's office told AFP. They discussed the deployment of extra US soldiers in Afghanistan this year, Karzai's spokesman Homayun Hamidzada said. The reinforcements of up to 30,000 soldiers are seen as an Iraq-style "surge" -- in reference to the strategy masterminded by Petraeus and which turned around a Sunni Muslim insurgency -- and illustrate a new focus on Afghanistan by Obama's government. The incoming US president has identified the battle against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan as one of his administration's priorities. Karzai reissued a call for "reviewing the war in Afghanistan -- how we do it, where we do it, the issue of minimising civilian casualties, and empowering the Afghan forces with training and equipment," Hamidzada said. "The two sides also discussed the importance of winning the trust and confidence of the Afghan people, key to winning the war," he said. On Tuesday, Karzai accused his Western allies of not doing enough to stop civilian deaths in battles against insurgents or cut opium production in areas patrolled by foreign troops, in a tough speech delivered to parliament. Karzai regularly speaks out against civilian casualties from military operations against the Taliban and other extremists in Afghanistan, saying the battle should focus on militant hubs in neighbouring Pakistan. Petraeus arrived from Islamabad where he announced that the United States has secured extra supply routes in agreements with Central Asian states and Russia for foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan. The move follows spectacular attacks on depots in and around Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, where hundreds of vehicles used to ferry supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan from the south were set ablaze. Petraeus left Afghanistan without further meetings on Wednesday, a US military officer told AFP, unable to give details. Related Links News From Across The Stans
Tajikistan, US in talks about Afghanistan supply route: FM
Dushanbe (AFP) Jan 21, 2009The United States and NATO are in talks with the central Asian nation of Tajikistan about supply routes of non-military equipment to Afghanistan, the country's foreign minister said Wednesday. |
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