By KUNA,
Washington : A top US military commander in Afghanistan expressed hope that President-elect Barack Obama could act swiftly in moving US troops into Afghanistan to quell violence in the country.
Commanding General of US forces in Afghanistan General David McKiernan said there is not enough military forces in southern Afghanistan “to provide adequate security,” reemphasizing the need for additional forces in this area.
He already requested additional combat brigades of around 20,000 forces, first due to arrive next January.
In remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, McKiernan could not speculate about Obama’s priority on this topic, saying only that he would act “hopefully quickly, but I do not know.” McKiernan, who is also commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), noted that the coalition forces are facing a war not a peacekeeping effort in Afghanistan.
“We need greater military and civilian contribution from the coalition, there is a variety of ways to do so,” he said.
The US general said that he has been told by European leaders that their public opinion “does not understand the national interest” in Afghanistan.
McKiernan described Afghanistan as “a difficult terrain and a complex country marked by poverty, scarce resources and high literacy rate,” and added that thousands of drug labs across Afghanistan are funding the insurgency.
“We will not ran out of bad people, we will not kill or capture all of them, ” he added, while noting that “militants sanctuary has deteriorated and allowed insurgents to move around” and calling to “deal aggressively” with opium in a military way.
He said the solution for stability in Afghanistan is ultimately a political one.
“The idea of reconciliation and to put down weapons is a powerful incentive to be pursued,” said McKiernan, but declined to comment on possible negotiations with the Taliban movement saying that it is not up for the US military to decide that but to the Afghan leaders while describing the leader of Taliban Mullah Omar as an “irreconcilable” figure.
He also talked about four phases for voter registration for elections next year in Afghanistan. Phase one already finished in 14 provinces and 261 registration centers with a total of one million registered voters. Phase two is now underway in 10 provinces and 250,000 registered voters.