counter insurgency campaign that s aimed at a fairly narrow goal, which is counter terrorism. those 50 al qaeda operate ibs that are believed to be in the country. and that number could grow if afghanistan spirals back into a greater state of violence and lawlessness if the united states and its allies aren t successful there. it s an effort aimed at trying to deny the terrorists by trying to focus on good governance. trying to go and root out corruption. trying to train civil servants. it s a very broad based, very laborious effort. and one that s moving in fits and starts. it s not going as well as senior military officials would hope. certainly some of the high profile efforts this year in southern afghanistan have been
the strategy is to prevent the area to be reclaimed by al qaeda who will use it for all sorts of training grounds as they did before 9/11. that s the calculation. is it doable? when you look at leon pennetta said, what s key is what s happening. have you seen that on the ground? this is the crux of the problem. the united states is engaged in a very comprehensive and costly counter insurgency campaign that s aimed at a fairly narrow goal, which is counter terrorism. those 50 al qaeda operate ibs that are believed to be in the country. and that number could grow if afghanistan spirals back into a greater state of violence and lawlessness if the united states and its allies aren t successful there. it s an effort aimed at trying