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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| US defence chief in Kabul talks | US defence chief in Kabul talks |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, for talks on the rising levels of violence in the country. | US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, for talks on the rising levels of violence in the country. |
| Mr Gates is meeting President Hamid Karzai and other top officials on Tuesday to discuss ways of combating the resurgent Taleban fighters. | Mr Gates is meeting President Hamid Karzai and other top officials on Tuesday to discuss ways of combating the resurgent Taleban fighters. |
| He flew to the country via Brussels, where he discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Nato leaders. | He flew to the country via Brussels, where he discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Nato leaders. |
| He told reporters there that defeating the Taleban was a "top priority". | He told reporters there that defeating the Taleban was a "top priority". |
| Speaking after meeting Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Mr Gates said they had discussed the Taleban revival. | Speaking after meeting Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Mr Gates said they had discussed the Taleban revival. |
| Bloodshed in Afghanistan last year returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, with the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and areas in the east of the country particularly hard-hit. | Bloodshed in Afghanistan last year returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, with the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and areas in the east of the country particularly hard-hit. |
| Some 4,000 people are believed to have died in 2006 in the insurgency - about a quarter of them civilians. | Some 4,000 people are believed to have died in 2006 in the insurgency - about a quarter of them civilians. |
| Spring offensive | Spring offensive |
| This is Mr Gates' first visit to Afghanistan since assuming his post last month. | This is Mr Gates' first visit to Afghanistan since assuming his post last month. |
| During talks with the Afghan defence minister he is quoted as saying that the US would stay in Afghanistan "until you can stand on your feet". | |
| Mr Gates schedule includes talks with Lt Gen Karl Eikenberry, the top US commander in Afghanistan, and Gen David Richards, commander of the 33,000-strong Nato-led force. | |
| Lt Gen Eikenberry has reemphasised US concerns over how the Taleban operates from within Pakistan. | Lt Gen Eikenberry has reemphasised US concerns over how the Taleban operates from within Pakistan. |
| "The enemy does use both sides of the border, they use the inside of Pakistan as well for command and control," he told reporters, Reuters news agency reports. | "The enemy does use both sides of the border, they use the inside of Pakistan as well for command and control," he told reporters, Reuters news agency reports. |
| "And they have senior leaders that operate on both sides." | "And they have senior leaders that operate on both sides." |
| The BBC's Dan Isaacs in Kabul says Mr Gates will see for himself the extent of the militant threat and whether international forces in Afghanistan have the resources to counter an expected spring offensive by the Taleban. | The BBC's Dan Isaacs in Kabul says Mr Gates will see for himself the extent of the militant threat and whether international forces in Afghanistan have the resources to counter an expected spring offensive by the Taleban. |
| With more US soldiers being sent to Iraq, it is unlikely at present that Afghanistan will receive its own force surge, our correspondent adds. | With more US soldiers being sent to Iraq, it is unlikely at present that Afghanistan will receive its own force surge, our correspondent adds. |
| Of the 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan, around half operate under the Nato umbrella. | Of the 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan, around half operate under the Nato umbrella. |
| The rest are under an independent US command, principally tasked with tracking down Taleban and al-Qaeda militants operating on the remote border region between Afghanistan and its neighbour Pakistan. | The rest are under an independent US command, principally tasked with tracking down Taleban and al-Qaeda militants operating on the remote border region between Afghanistan and its neighbour Pakistan. |