Violence, turmoil in Afghanistan to rise: Petraeus

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan may climb in the short-term, along with internal government turmoil, U.S. General David Petraeus told Congress on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to reserve judgment on the new war strategy for a full year.

Petraeus, who as head of U.S. Central Command is in charge of drawing down forces from Iraq and overseeing a new surge of 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, said he expected increased Afghan fighting in the spring and the summer.

He also said the Afghan government's expected moves to combat corruption would likely result in "greater turmoil within the government as malign actors are identified and replaced."

"It will be important, therefore, to withhold judgment on the success or failure of the strategy in Afghanistan until next December, as the President has counseled," Petraeus said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B70IC20091209?type=politicsNews

Interesting article in Harper's -- a magazine worth your subscription IMO. (I have no ties to Harper's. I'm just a subscriber.)

The master of Spin Boldak:
Undercover with Afghanistan's drug-trafficking border police
By Matthieu Aikins

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/12/0082754

haven't we killed enough people???