Washington, September 04: Amid skepticism among the US population about the mission in Afghanistan the US Defense Secretary says he does not think it is time to get out of the war-torn country.
“We are mindful of that, we understand the concerns of many Americans in that area, but we think that we now have the resources and the right approach to start making some headway,” Robert Gates told a news conference at Pentagon on Thursday.
“The fact that Americans would be tired of having their sons and daughters at risk and in battle is not surprising,” he said speaking alongside his boss, top military commander Admiral Michael Mullen.
But “I absolutely do not think it is time to get out of Afghanistan.”
Gates said that the US would not be able to defeat al-Qaeda without the foreign forces in Afghanistan, hinting at a longer US presence in the war-ravaged country.
However, US defense secretary warned that there remains “limited time for us to show that” President Barack Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan is succeeding.
The developments also come as a Washington Post – ABC News poll has found that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan.
Gates emphasized the US has now sufficient resources on the ground to start implementing Obama’s new Afghan strategy.
The remarks come as insurgency has skyrocketed in the eastern and southern provinces where the foreign troops have lost several grounds to the Taliban-linked militants over the past months.
There are currently more than 101,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan. The US-led force lost 77 more troops there during August, setting a new monthly casualty record since the occupation began in 2001.
The previous record was set just a month before in July when 76 soldiers of the so-called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) perished, reflecting the rapidly worsening conditions in the country.
The US launched military operations to allegedly destroy the militancy and arrest top militant leaders in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The occupation was labeled “the war against terror,” which lead to more terror and insecurity in the conflict-torn country.
Pressure is mounting on the US and its western allies to pull out troops from the violence-wracked country amid growing troops causalities.
—–Agencies