AFGHANISTAN: U.S Secretary of Defense Robert Gates met with Afghan Defense minister Abdul Rahim Wardak

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met his Afghan counter part Abdul Rahim Wardak on Tuesday (January 16) afternoon a head of his meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, aiming to ensure military commanders have the resources to counter an expected spring offensive by the Taliban. Gates arrived in Kabul on Monday (January 15). Pakistan sealed an agreement in early September with tribes in the area of North Waziristan under which Pakistani troops would withdraw to garrisons on the understanding the tribes would not tolerate incursions into Afghanistan. Last year was Afghanistan's bloodiest since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 4,000 people died in the violence. Bomb attacks jumped from 783 in 2005 to 1,677 last year and suicide attacks surged from 27 to 139, according to U.S. military figures. This year approximately 23,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. About half of them serve as part of a NATO force while the rest conduct missions ranging from training to counter-terrorism.

ITN Source | January 16, 2007

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