US strategic goals in Afghanistan not met, says report

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House concluded in a recent secret report that the war effort in Afghanistan has not met strategic goals set this year, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
The newspaper, citing unnamed US officials, said the report was prepared earlier this month by the National Security Council.

Its main conclusion was that while individual military battles against the Taliban have been successful, other areas remain wanting, report said.

“One can point to a lot of indicators that are positive,” The Post quoted a senior US intelligence official as saying.

“We go out there and achieve our objectives and kill bad guys.”

But the extremists, he added, seem to have little trouble finding replacements, according to the paper.

While many foreigners, mostly Pakistani, join the Taliban, several officials said the main source of new recruits remain unhappy Afghans, The Post said.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of progress being made … I would think that from (the Taliban) standpoint, things are looking decent,” the paper quoted the intelligence official as saying.