Clinton Defends NATO’s Afghanistan Strategy

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has defended the NATO strategy for fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan in response to criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Clinton said Monday that a key part of NATO’s strategy is to use intelligence-driven, precision-targeted operations that have had a “significant” impact on the Taliban’s leadership.

She said such raids are in the best interest of the Afghan people, the government and the NATO troops who are working with their Afghan counterparts to secure the country.

Also Monday, the Pentagon said the public disagreement between Mr. Karzai and the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, comes from their different roles and perspectives on the conflict.

In a recent interview , President Karzai said he wants U.S. and NATO forces to scale back the visibility and intensity of their operations and reduce “intrusiveness” into Afghan life or risk fueling the Taliban insurgency.

On Monday, The Washington Post newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying that General Petraeus expressed “astonishment and disappointment” at Mr. Karzai’s remarks, and that the president’s attitude could make his position “untenable.”

But Mr. Karzai’s spokesman played down the apparent split between the president and the general. He said Mr. Karzai was not criticizing NATO’s overall strategy but rather expressing his view about how it could be improved.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Mr. Karzai’s comments are in line with the alliance’s desire to move toward giving Afghan forces more authority over military operations.

He added, however, that he does not agree with all of Mr. Karzai’s remarks and believes there is “no alternative” to pursuing military action against insurgents to pressure them into peace talks.