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Afghan government must improve: Mullen
AFP - Wednesday, February 11
OTTAWA (AFP) - - The Afghan government must get better at running the country if the US led military coalition can hope to beat back insurgents, top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen said here Tuesday.
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"I think that the governance piece is probably the most critical piece right now," the Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff told reporters after meeting with his Canadian counterpart, General Walter Natynczyk.
"As we look at the challenges that we have in 2009-2010 ... I think the lack of governance tied to the corruption that exists (in Afghanistan), is going to be the number one challenge that we have," Mullen told a joint press conference.
Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay agreed.
"Everyone, the Americans, all of the NATO partners ... and (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai have acknowledged the concerns over corruption in the Afghanistan government ... the need to ensure that the Afghan government and the Afghan programs and the Afghan security forces are all pulling in the same direction and making good decisions."
MacKay said the August presidential election in Afghanistan was crucial, "but most importantly it has to be transparent, fair and inclusive of the Afghan people."
Mullen was in Canada to discuss, among other issues, the Afghan war, as the administration of US President Barack Obama was nearing a decision to draw down troops in Irak and deploy more in Afghanistan, which Mullen said were needed quickly to hold territory where insurgents have been routed.
The commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, Mullen said "had this request out for many months and those working through the request recognize that the sooner the better with respect to this."
"I'm hopeful that we can get them there as soon as absolutely possible, but, again, that's a decision for the president of the United States, not for me," Mullen added.
He said 2009 was a crucial moment in Afghanistan with elections scheduled later in the year and an increasingly violent insurgency in the south and east of the country.
Mullen's comments came as the Obama administration reviews US strategy in Afghanistan in the face of an emboldened Taliban insurgency and plans to possibly double the 37,000-strongly US force there.
In Washington, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Obama would likely decide "the next few days," but that a review of options for an Iraq drawdown had not begun yet.
"The president will have several options before him," Gates told reporters, referring to Afghanistan. "And I think he will make those decisions probably in the course of the next few days."
Mullen said more US troops were needed to allow for development and aid projects to go ahead, as insurgents were often moving back into areas where NATO forces had previously pushed them out.
"It's got to be enough forces to be able not just to clear, but we've got to have enough forces in there to hold, which we haven't had in the past," the US admiral said.
General Natynczyk said Canada was looking "forward to the reinforcement of US forces in theatre to enable us to continue not only to secure an area and do the build, but then to hold, something that we've had a challenge with the lack of forces on the ground."
The Afghan mission is a sensitive issue in Canada, where the government has committed to stay in the country only to the end of 2011 after a political deal.
More than 100 Canadians have died in Afghanistan since the start of its mission in 2002, with the toll rising after Canadian troops deployed to the country's volatile south in 2006.
US officials have suggested that Washington would like to see Ottawa extend its mission but Canadian ministers and military officers have insisted the deadline is firm.
Mullen told reporters he had made no request for Canada to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2011, saying Washington would not interfere with Canada's decision.
He added the United States would make adjustments as necessary if the Canadian forces depart as planned.
More than 400 Canadians have been wounded in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2008, and Admiral Mullen on Monday met some of those injured in combat in the Taliban-dominated south.
Canada has about 2,750 soldiers serving among the nearly 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan under North Atlantic Treaty Organization and US command.
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Canadian soldiers in Kandahar province. The Afghan government must get better at running the country if the US led military coalition can hope to beat back insurgents, top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen has said.
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