Secretaries Gates and Clinton say US goals hold steady in Afghanistan despite strategy review

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Calling the Afghan-Pakistan border as the "modern epicentre of jihad", the US has made it clear that it's not leaving Afghanistan as a Taliban takeover of the country would empower the Al Qaeda terrorist network. "The thing to remember about Afghanistan is that country and particularly the Afghan-Pakistan border is the modern epicentre of jihad," Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said at a forum sponsored by the George Washington University Monday.

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 Cabinet secretaries: Iran talks a limited successWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton say last week's historic joint talks with Iran were a limited success. Clinton says the session in Geneva yielded three agreements that buy time for the U.S.

October 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a "very intensive," three and a half hour AFPAK discussion in the secure Principals Conference Room in the Ops Center on Friday. According to Politico, among those who participated in the discussion were Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, his deputy Paul Jones, senior advisor Vali Nasr, special defense advisor Vikram Singh, deputy secretaries of state Jim Steinberg and Jack Lew, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Bob Blake, Clinton chief of staff Jake Sullivan and deputy policy planning chief Derek Chollet, plus US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson and senior embassy leadership via secure video.

September 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US is open to the possibility of sending more troops to the Afghanistan war, where President Barack Obama's government has "limited time" to show improvement, top defence officials said Thursday. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a press conference at Pentagon that he has received the assessment report on the Afghanistan strategy by Army General Stanley A.

August 5th, 2009 Pentagon says review of Afghan war to be delayedWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asking that "a few other ideas" be taken into account, has extended the deadline for an assessment of how to turn around the war in Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday. The report had been expected next week and now may come in late August or early September, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday that he is replacing the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan to bring a fresh approach to the conflict. Gates told reporters at the Pentagon he has asked General David McKiernan to submit his resignation and nominated Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal to become the next commander.

May 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has once again clarified to Pakistan that it would have to counter the expanding writ of the Taliban effectively, and be very specific about what it wants to achieve in the fight against terror, as the "era of lip service was over". Talking to media persons on the sidelines of her meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said all the countries should be very specific in working out their plans to counter the terror threat.

April 22nd, 2009 Clinton cites al-Qaida as key target in Obama planWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is telling Congress that the core goal of President Barack Obama's anti-terror strategy is to defeat al-Qaida and prevent its return to Afghanistan. Clinton testified Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where Chairman Howard Berman told her the panel is concerned about Islamic extremists gaining momentum in Pakistan.

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 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - While President Barack Obama's administration is still reviewing US strategy in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that America, "at a minimum," must make efforts to ensure that the Taliban does not return to power in Afghanistan after being ousted in 2001. "I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against a democratically elected government in Afghanistan, thus turning Afghanistan, potentially again, into a haven for Al-Qaeda and other extremists," The News quoted Gates, as saying.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has vowed to stabilize Pakistan and Afghanistan by putting forth a comprehensive policy "We will be working with our NATO allies and other partners to come up with a comprehensive strategy that integrates military and civilian assets in a way that can try to stabilise both Afghanistan and Pakistan from the mutual threat they face from Al Qaeda and the Taliban," The Daily Times quoted Clinton, as saying. According to a US State Department statement released here, Clinton viewed the extremist outfits as being determined to spread havoc in the region.

February 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will soon announce his decision on the deployment of more troops in Afghanistan, the White House has said. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who travelled with the president from Chicago to Washington, told reporters Monday that the government was reviewing the US policy towards Afghanistan and may take a decision soon to send additional troops to the war-torn country.

January 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US military plans to send three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan by mid-summer this year, Defence Secretary Robert Gates told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. He said there is a possibility of increasing the number of US troops in Afghanistan, though it has not been finalised.

January 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Tuesday there was 'no purely military solution' for the Afghan war, which he described as Washington's 'greatest military challenge'. He made the remarks while briefing senators on war plans for Afghanistan and Iraq on the Capitol Hill.