Success
is possible in the war in Afghanistan even if Pakistan fails to fully
cooperate in countering militants along its border, Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said on Thursday.
With Pakistan taking some positive steps, Gates said: "I think that as long as the picture stays mixed like that, that we can be successful."
He said a decision to withdraw a US surge force from Afghanistan by next summer took into account flagging political support for the war.
The "advantages and disadvantages" of a range of options were debated in White House deliberations, including "not only the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also political sustainability here at home," Gates said.
In his decision on a troop drawdown in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama chose not to follow the advice of the US commander in the war, General David Petraeus, who favored a slower withdrawal of surge forces, Gates told AFP on Thursday.
Petraeus presented Obama with "a range of options that began next July with the drawdown," Gates said. "Obviously he'd preferred options that gave more time."
But Gates, who said he endorsed the president's decision, added he was "not aware of a single general ever in history that did not want more troops and more time." AFP
With Pakistan taking some positive steps, Gates said: "I think that as long as the picture stays mixed like that, that we can be successful."
He said a decision to withdraw a US surge force from Afghanistan by next summer took into account flagging political support for the war.
The "advantages and disadvantages" of a range of options were debated in White House deliberations, including "not only the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also political sustainability here at home," Gates said.
In his decision on a troop drawdown in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama chose not to follow the advice of the US commander in the war, General David Petraeus, who favored a slower withdrawal of surge forces, Gates told AFP on Thursday.
Petraeus presented Obama with "a range of options that began next July with the drawdown," Gates said. "Obviously he'd preferred options that gave more time."
But Gates, who said he endorsed the president's decision, added he was "not aware of a single general ever in history that did not want more troops and more time." AFP
