USA TODAY: …U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has not yet recommended to Obama a specific pace of withdrawals for 2013. But during the Pentagon chief’s two-day visit to the war zone this past week, commanders suggested that things are going better than is generally believed by an American public weary of war after 11 years.
Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, for example, cited “astounding” progress in the Zaray district of Kandahar province, where the Taliban once held sway. He said Afghan forces are now “dominating” in that district. Abrams is the top coalition commander in southern Afghanistan.
Abrams told reporters he foresees a smaller coalition force by next summer, but he was not recommending or predicting any U.S. reductions. He was arguing that Afghan forces are performing so well that they should be able to hold their ground in 2013 with less coalition combat power… (more)
