General says no early Afghan victory (Reuters)

General says no early Afghan victory
Wed Nov 1, 2006 4:27 AM GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - NATO has insufficient troops in Afghanistan to secure
a victory over Taliban fighters in the coming months, the alliance's top
commander said in an interview published on Wednesday.

British army General David Richards also said he hoped the level of fighting
towards the end of the year would be far lower than the bloody clashes endured
over the summer as his forces focus on enabling reconstruction to gather pace.

"I haven't got enough (to) win this, say, in the next six months, but I can
continue to make sufficient improvements to keep the people here confident
in us and in their government," Richards told the Financial Times.

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Despite the challenges, Richards said it was possible to convince the Afghans
his 31,000-strong NATO force was making progress, with help from the fledgling
Afghan army and police.

-snip-