No purely military solution for Afghan: Robert Gates

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has clearly told Pakistan that America will not leave the Afghanistan war midway despite the ongoing strategy review of Washington's policies in the region. "I had lunch with the Pakistani ambassador last week, and I made absolutely clear to him: we are not leaving Afghanistan," CNN quoted Gates as saying.

October 5th, 2009 Gates: Military will fall in line on AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. military will not hesitate in carrying out whatever mission President Barack Obama decides on in Afghanistan.

September 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stressing on the need for destroying militant safe havens in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen has said Islamabad is a key ally in the new American strategy to defeat the Taliban. Terming the joint US-Pak policy against extremism as a 'pincer approach', Admiral Mullen said Pakistan's efforts against the militants in FATA should be backed by applying pressure from the Afghan side.

August 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said there is a possibility of an increased American military presence in Afghanistan, but warned that such a move would stretch military resources and could lead to a possible Afghan backlash.

August 13th, 2009 Gates: No troop recommendation in Afghan reportWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that an Afghan assessment due soon from commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal won't contain any specific recommendations for increases in troops.

June 18th, 2009 Gates: Civilian deaths strategic problem in warWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the accidental killing of civilians in Afghanistan has become one of the military's greatest strategic problems in the faltering war. Gates says it will take another day or two before officials release their investigation into an early May battle and airstrikes in which dozens of Afghan civilians were killed.

June 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates wants Congress' support for 700 million dollars for the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) for 2010, as part of a massive 130 billion dollars request for overseas contingency operations for Afghanistan and Iraq wars. "This programme will be carried out with the concurrence of the Secretary of State and will complement existing and planned State Department efforts by allowing the CENTCOM commander to work with Pakistan's military to build counterinsurgency capability," he said.

May 30th, 2009 US urges Europe, China to step up Afghan helpSINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Europe and China to step up their involvement in rebuilding Afghanistan, saying Saturday that America alone cannot put the conflict-ridden nation back on its feet while mired in a fight against the Taliban.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The chances of a deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban are remote as long as the insurgents enjoy momentum on the battlefield, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said. "The time was not yet ripe for the kind of reconciliation that occurred in Iraq with armed opponents of the Baghdad government," Geo TV reported Saturday, citing Gates.

May 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that it will take another two to four years before Afghan forces start leading their military operations on their own. "War is inherently unpredictable.

May 8th, 2009 AP source: First Obama Afghan surge troops arriveWASHINGTON — Pentagon officials say the vanguard of President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan arrived this week. Dozens of Marines who arrived in Kandahar as advance units represent the first group of soldiers deployed as a direct result of Obama's decision to expand U.S.

April 30th, 2009 Officials downplay military options vs IranWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the military option for forcing Iran to halt its nuclear program would be just temporary and ineffective and that sanctions make more sense. Gates told Senate appropriators Thursday that a military attack on Iran would merely send that country's nuclear program further underground.

April 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said the three Somali pirates who were killed by the Navy's Seals to end a hostage crisis were 'untrained' teenagers. Addressing an audience at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia, Gates said Monday that the slain pirates, aged at between 17 and 19, were heavily armed but inexperienced.

April 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has once again raised concerns over the Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) links with outlawed extremists groups. In an interview to a private Afghan television channel, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said: "The ISI's contacts with some of the extremist groups like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Haqqani network, Commander Nazir and others are a real concern to us." Gates said Washington has already conveyed its apprehensions to Islamabad, and it hopes that Pakistan will take the issue seriously.

March 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asserted that any settlement with insurgents in Afghanistan must be under terms set by the Kabul Government. "I think almost all insurgencies in the end game involve political reconciliation.