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Gates says US Troops in Southern Afghanistan to Lead New Fight Against
Taliban

   VOA News 09 March 2010
   U.S.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, speaks with 1st Battalion,
   17th  Infantry  Regiment,  troops  at  Forward  Operating  Base  (FOB)
   Frontenac, 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, 09
   Mar 20

Photo: AP

   U.S.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, speaks with 1st Battalion,
   17th  Infantry  Regiment,  troops  at  Forward  Operating  Base  (FOB)
   Frontenac, 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, 09
   Mar 2010

   U.S.  Defense  Secretary  Robert  Gates has met with members of a U.S.
   battle  unit  in  southern Afghanistan that suffered heavy losses last
   year in the fight against the Taliban.
   He told the troops they will soon be part of a "decisive phase" in the
   war.
   Gates  paid  tribute  to  the  sacrifices  of  the U.S. combat brigade
   Tuesday  as  he  spoke  to  soldiers at an outpost about 50 kilometers
   north of Kandahar city.  The brigade has lost 22 soldiers and has seen
   62 others wounded since its deployment last year.
   Secretary Gates told the troops they will be at the "tip of the spear"
   when  the  U.S.  military  launches  an expected offensive against the
   Taliban in Kandahar province later this year.
   He  also  met  with  U.S.  and  British  generals overseeing a current
   operation against Taliban militants in neighboring Helmand province.
   Speaking in Kabul Monday, Gates said he was encouraged by the progress
   of  the Marjah offensive, but warned that "very hard fighting" remains
   ahead for NATO troops.
   NATO  and  Afghan forces have been trying to clear insurgents from the
   city  of  Marjah  in Helmand province since last month to allow Afghan
   authorities to take control of the area.
   Gates  held talks in Kabul with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan,
   General  Stanley  McChrystal,  who  said  his  next  goal is to retake
   Kandahar, the Taliban's traditional stronghold.
   McChrystal  said that, unlike Marjah, the operation to secure Kandahar
   will  be  more  gradual  as  Washington  sends thousands of additional
   troops to the region in the coming months.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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