FOXNews.com: Top commander says US must stick to its strategy in Afghanistan

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Top commander says US must stick to its strategy in Afghanistan Mar 19th 2012, 23:30 WASHINGTON –  The United States must stick to its strategy in Afghanistan, including the planned withdrawal calendar, over the next several months despite recent setbacks that have tested America's relations with the Afghans, the top U.S. commander for the war is telling Congress. Gen. John Allen is heading to the Capitol on Tuesday for the first time since anti-American sentiment was inflamed in Afghanistan after U.S. troops burned some Korans and then an Army soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghans last week in a shooting spree. The incidents spawned attacks against U.S. forces and prompted Afghan leaders to demand that American troops pull out of local villages and rural areas. The upheaval has fueled Congressional opposition to the war, insuring that Allen will face lawmakers who are bitterly divided and increasingly skeptical of the administration's strategy. In frank testimony prepared for delivery Tuesday to the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, Allen argues that while the last few months "have been trying," the coalition and its Afghan allies have made progress and degraded the insurgency. "This campaign has been long. It has been difficult, and it has been costly. There have been setbacks, to be sure; we're experiencing them now, and there will be more setbacks ahead," Allen says. "I wish I could tell you that this war was simple, and that progress could be easily measured. But that's not the way of counterinsurgencies." Allen's testimony, obtained by The Associated Press, comes at one of the most troubled points in the decade-long conflict, as election politics in America and Afghanistan, coupled with the unpopularity of the war, put unprecedented pressure on U.S. commanders to get troops home. The Koran burnings sparked a week of riots and retaliatory attacks that left more than 30 people dead, including six U.S. soldiers. Against that backdrop, Allen will tell Congress that while there is much hard and deadly work ahead, "the progress is real, and, importantly, it's sustainable." One senior military official said Monday that while Allen will face tough questioning about the direction of the war, he will urge perseverance in the strategy. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta delivered a similar message last week as he traveled to Afghanistan, insisting that the U.S. must not lose sight of its mission. The U.S. currently has about 90,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and plans to withdraw another 22,000 by late this year. Panetta has said he does not expect to get the drawdown scheduled from Allen until before another three or four months, and that there are no firm plans yet for additional troop withdrawals through the end of the year.

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