President Barack Obama’s plan to start pulling troops out of Afghanistan next year is on track. But before that happens, he plans to hit the Taliban hard.
He warned that the war against the terrorists is about to escalate. Speaking at a news conference that included Afghan President Hamid Karzai, he said “…there is going to be some hard fighting over the next several months”. This was obviously a reference to the push that the U.S. forces are preparing for in June. The new campaign targets Kandahar and aims to oust Taliban control of the region. This is expected to be an extremely bloody battle and one of the most crucial ones in the history of the nine year old war.
Karzai’s visit to the White House comes after months of finger pointing at each other from both administrations. Not only is the Afghan President in hot water over fraud allegations in relation to his re-election, he has also been criticized over his management of the war and blind eye towards corruption and drug trafficking. Karzai has in turn accused the U.S. of not giving him the total support that was promised.
Both Presidents downplayed the strained relationship and said that the reports were overblown and exaggerated. Obama in particular said that progress has been achieved since the increase in troops at the end of last year. However, cautioned against expecting more progress overnight and said that it would be based on a long term partnership with the Afghan nation.