WASHINGTON, DC: The situation in Afghanistan takes center stage in the U.S. defense policy guidance for 2010, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen based his 2010 guidance on a need for the stability and security of national interests in the Middle East and Central Asia. U.S. war planners at the beginning of the year gave dour assessments on the progress of the Afghan war, prompting President Barack Obama to put renewed emphasis on al-Qaida in his revised military strategy.
Mullen said regional terrorist groups like al-Qaida remain one of the biggest security concerns for the United States.
"The threat is still real," he wrote in his guidance.
With U.S. combat forces winding down their mission in Iraq, Washington set its eyes on improving the situation in Afghanistan. Mullen said it was imperative for U.S. assets in Iraq to transfer their priorities to Afghanistan as the mission there gains momentum.
"Our main effort now must be to push forces into the theater as quickly as possible -- including shifting the balance of enablers from Iraq," he wrote. He further complained that military activity was not keeping pace with the Pentagon’s strategy.
"Far too many of our daily practices do not match the speed of war," the admiral wrote.
Mullen signed the measure for review by his colleagues at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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