Clinton says Karzai supports U.S. Afghan strategy

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday said Afghan President Hamid Karzai fully supports the U.S. strategy in that country, despite reports that said otherwise.

Clinton told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Karzai "is fully in support of the strategy" and "is fully in support of the fact that it is making progress."

In a Washington Post interview last week, Karzai said the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in Afghanistan, especially the unpopular night raids, otherwise the Taliban insurgency could be exacerbated.

The comments placed him at odds with U.S. commander David Petraeus, who has made night raids a central part of his strategy and claims the 30,000 new troops have made substantial progress in beating back the Taliban.

Clinton said Petraeus understood the sensitivities of the raids and is "working closely together" with Karzai to "make sure that they stay in sync."

Obama ordered the deployment of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan late last year, but the troops have made little progress in changing the outlook of the war. The administration has begun its internal review of whether the strategy is working.

Source: Xinhua