Troops To Face Hard Fight In Afghanistan: Robert Gates

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks in Kabul on Monday, warning of “hard fighting” ahead as his ground commander said NATO could take on the Taliban in their spiritual capital this summer.
There is no doubt there are positive developments going on, but I would say it’s very early yet, Gates told reporters on his plane before landing in the Afghan capital. He cautioned that there would be “some very hard fighting, very hard days ahead” as US, NATO and Afghan forces step up pressure on Taliban militants in the south under a last-ditch strategy designed to end the war. Gates acknowledged “bits and pieces of good news” when asked about the recent capture of senior Taliban leaders in neighbouring Pakistan, but said it was probably too soon to say momentum had shifted to coalition forces. I think more needs to be done, he said, adding that a surge of US reinforcements was still in its initial stages.