Gen. David Petraeus told Congress this week that while “key insurgent safe havens have been taken away from the Taliban,” the gains are still “fragile and reversible.”
In three hours of testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus said that U.S. forces in Afghanistan were on track to hand over primary security responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014, when foreign forces are scheduled to withdraw. But he said he was in favor of maintaining joint military bases with the Afghan army after that date in order “to stay engaged in a region in which we have such vital interests.”
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