Dempsey due in Afghanistan next week

The chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday he travel to Afghanistan next week to work with his commanders on weakening the Taliban and strengthening Afghan forces.

“I’m returning to Kabul next week to talk with Gen. Allen and some of our new commanders about how to continue to make the ANSF stronger and the Taliban weaker,” Dempsey, told reporters at a joint news conference with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“We’ll discuss our exhaustive efforts at every echelon to confront the insider attack,” he said, adding that the commander of US and NATO forces had convened a meeting of senior military leaders on the rising green-on-blue assaults.

Panetta acknowledged that terrorists coming from across the border posed a big challenge to the war against terrorism. “What Gen. Allen is hoping to do is that the Pakistanis can help the US identify the terrorists on the Afghan side of the border…”

At the same time, Panetta said, he was encouraged that Pakistan had taken a more positive, visible step to advance America’s shared objective of a secure and peaceful Afghanistan.

“Their decision to open up the NATO supply lines means a great deal to us in terms of our ability to transit containers and materiel that are now moving across the border into Afghanistan,” he added.

Frequent meetings between Allen and the Pakistan army chief were helping improve cross-border cooperation, he acknowledged. “It is helping us try to confront the challenge of these insurgent sanctuaries which exist on both sides of the border.”