The Obama administration is nearing the completion of review to determine whether the new strategy for Afghanistan outlined a year ago has been successful, a senior official said Tuesday, dpa reported.
President Barack Obama ordered the review when he announced his revised strategy for Afghanistan in December 2009. The new approach included pouring thousands of more soldiers into the country, intensifying the effort to eliminate Taliban safe havens across the border in Pakistan, and strengthening the civilian side of the effort.
The report is expected to be complete by mid-to-late December and will be made public shortly thereafter, the senior administration official said. The official said the report is designed to diagnose the effectiveness of the current strategy but will not offer new or alternative policies.
"We're simply assessing how the current policy is working," the official said.
The report will be part of the process for determining when US troops will begin withdrawals, said the official, who briefed reporters on background. Obama pinned July 2011 as the timeframe for transitioning security responsibility to the Afghan government, but has said any drawdown of forces will be made based on the situation on the ground.
The Afghan war has grown unpopular in the United States as it drags on. US casualties continue to mount and the Taliban remains resilient 10 years after the US military went in and ousted the Taliban government.