Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 16, 2009

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal spoke to Marines and Afghan soldiers and police officers last week in Helmand Province. Eros Hoagland for The New York Times

Warning From General On End To Afghan Combat -- The New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — The new American commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that United States Marines had faced less resistance than expected in their operation to clear Taliban safe havens in the south, but that British troops just to the north were running into fiercer fighting than anticipated.

The commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, also said that he was surprised by the resilience of pockets of Pashtun militants in western and northern Afghanistan, areas that he expected to be relatively calm but that now needed more troops and stronger local governance.

General McChrystal’s assessment one month into his command does not only reflect the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the fight in Afghanistan. It also underscores the challenges facing American commanders and diplomats as they work with allied and Afghan officials to carry out the Obama administration’s new war strategy here.

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