The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has until mid-October to
submit a plan for the initial withdrawal of American troops, decisions
that may hinge in part on whether the latest surge in attacks continues
through the holy month of Ramadan.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says commanders are hearing that Taliban
leaders may leave their fighters in the country to try to regain lost
ground during the Islamic holy period which begins Monday.
Speaking
to reporters traveling with him in Afghanistan, Mullen said Marine Gen.
John Allen, who has just taken over as top U.S. commander here, needs
time to evaluate the combat, training and other requirements before
presenting a detailed withdrawal plan.
Mullen's comments for the
first time laid out a deadline for Allen to structure the planned
withdrawal of 10,000 U.S. troops by the end of the year, as announced
by President Barack Obama.
"The next month will be very telling,"
said Mullen, noting that often the Taliban leaders will travel back to
Pakistan for Ramadan. It's unclear at this point what they will do, or
if there will be any decline in the fighting.
Mullen, who arrived
Friday in Afghanistan, met Saturday with commanders in southern
Afghanistan. He was traveling in the east Sunday.
He said that so
far commanders are saying they are seeing some signs of improved
security, but his comments came amid a series of spectacular deadly
attacks across the south, including a bombing Sunday outside the main
gate of the police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Lashkar
Gah.
That suicide bomb attack comes on the heels of bombings in
the southern province of Uruzgan that killed at least 19 people, and
the assassination of Kandahar's mayor.
The mayor was the third southern Afghan leader to be killed in the last three weeks.
There
are nearly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Under Obama's troop
withdrawal plan, 10,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan by the end
of the year, and another 23,000 by the end of next summer.
A key
to the withdrawal is the ongoing effort to train Afghan forces so they
can take control of their own security. Mullen said that while training
remains a top priority, and commanders would like to accelerate it,
it's not clear how possible that will be over the coming months. AP
