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Top US adviser doesn't see Taliban returning to power
AFP - Monday, October 5
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Top US adviser doesn't see Taliban returning to power
Slideshow: Full Photo Coverage: War On Terror
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – White House National Security Adviser James Jones said Sunday he does not expect a return to power by the Taliban in Afghanistan, despite the hard line group's resurgence.
"I don't foresee the return of the Taliban and I want to be very clear that Afghanistan is not in imminent danger of falling," Jones told CNN's "State of the Union."
Jones was speaking after Saturday saw the deadliest day for international troops in over a year in Afghanistan, with eight US troops there killed, as public support for the war wanes amid rising violence and an Afghan election seen as riddled with fraud.
But the retired general insisted that the presence of Al-Qaeda -- which launched the September 11 attacks on the United States -- was "very diminished" across Afghanistan, with less than 100 members of the group operating there and "no bases, no ability to launch attacks."
He insisted coalitions forces on ground in Afghanistan are "robust" and said the solution to regaining the upper hand there is "much more complex" than just deploying additional troops.
The security adviser's stance contrasts sharply with that of the top US commander in Afghanistan, who has warned the US-led mission could fail if more forces are not sent to fight the insurgents who have been on the rebound.
General Stanley McChrystal's dire warning has sparked a wide-ranging policy review, as Washington weighs his recommendation to send up to 40,000 more troops to reinforce the 68,000-strong US contingent.
The commander's concerns were highlighted by the dawn raid on Saturday, when hundreds of militants attacked a pair of outposts in the mountainous border region that is a haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
Those concerns were echoed by some leading US politicians Sunday.
"If we don't add more troops, you're going to see more of what happened yesterday," warned Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
"The security situation's going to get worse. And any hope of better governance is lost and the Taliban will re-emerge."
The South Carolina lawmaker called for President Barack Obama's administration to hold Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "feet to the fire to do a better job."
Jones urged the Karzai government to "do much better" than it has on economic development and the rule of law, but also on tackling corruption, seen as rampant in the administration in Kabul.
He also pointed to progress in Pakistan, where security forces have rooted out militants from the Swat valley and Bajaur, but face a much tougher task in North and South Waziristan, which are teeming with militants who fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban there in 2001.
McChrystal met Friday aboard Air Force One with President Obama in Copenhagen -- their first in-person meeting in person since the general took command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in June.
The general has pushed for a military buildup in Afghanistan, but some Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have advocated a diminished footprint that would focus on hunting Al-Qaeda cells, mainly through unmanned drone aircraft strikes and special operations forces raids.
And Jones warned it would be a "mistake" to underestimate non-military elements of the strategy currently under review that Obama announced in March.
The president, he told CBS television, "should be presented with options, not just one fait accompli."
Meanwhile Democratic Senator Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said he would not send more troops to Afghanistan now.
"I would not commit to more combat troops at this time," Levin told CBS.
"There's a lot of other things that need to be done to show resolve," he said.
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