The top U.S. military commander in the Mideast says he doesn't expect the Taliban to launch a spring offensive this year. Admiral William Fallon says that, if anything, he expects the military momentum in Afghanistan to continue to swing in the direction of coalition forces.
Fallon told the House of Representatives armed services committee that any spring offensive is going to be carried out by coalition forces. Fallon concedes that while the situation in Afghanistan is still not ideal, he says recent improvements have been encouraging.
The United States plans on sending another 3,200 marines to Afghanistan this year, in part to stave off any uptick in violence that might come with the warmer weather. Fallon says the influx will give Gen. Dan McNeil, head of coalition forces in Afghanistan, the "shot in the arm he needs to really go after ... security, particularly in the south, where he intends to deploy those forces." |