A top US general in Afghanistan has called for a revised military strategy, suggesting the current one is failing, BBC reported.
In a strategic assessment sent to US Central Command, Gen Stanley McChrystal said that while the Afghan situation was serious, success was achievable.
The report has yet not been published, but sources say Gen McChrystal sees protecting the Afghan people against the Taliban as the top priority.
The report does not carry a direct call for increasing troop numbers.
"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," Gen McChrystal said in the assessment.
The report came as further results from last week's presidential election were expected to be released, at 1230 GMT. President Hamid Karzai is leading so far.
The independent Electoral Complaints Commission says that of more than 2,100 allegations of wrongdoing during voting and vote-counting, 618 have been deemed serious enough to affect the election's outcome, if proven.
In the report, Gen McChrystal is said to have likened the US military to a bull charging at a matador [the Taliban] - slightly weakened with each "cut" it receives.
BBC North America editor Mark Mardell says General McChrystal's bullfighting metaphor is striking because it is not the usual way that US commanders talk about the country's armed forces.
The general's blunt assessment will also say that the Afghan people are undergoing a crisis of confidence because the war against the Taliban has not made their lives better, our correspondent says.
General McChrystal says the aim should be for Afghan forces to take the lead but their army will not be ready to do that for three years and it will take much longer for the police.
And he will warn that villages have to be taken from the Taliban and held, not merely taken.
General McChrystal also wants more engagement with the Taliban fighters and he believes that 60% of the problem would go away if they could be found jobs.
His report is expected to be presented to military chiefs in Washington on Monday.
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