The U.S. has driven al-Qaida into hiding and undermined its leadership, but is struggling to oust its primary sympathizer in Afghanistan, the Taliban, the nation�s spymaster said Sunday.
CIA Director Leon Panetta�s assessment comes as President Barack Obama advances a risky new war plan that relies on 98,000 U.S. troops to prop up the Afghan government and prevent al-Qaida from returning. No longer overseeing the commander in chief�s mission is Gen. Stanley McChrystal, sacked this past week in a stunning shake-up in U.S. military leadership after his critical comments about the White House.
He said al-Qaida�s evolving attack strategy increasingly relies on operatives without any record of terrorism involvement or those already in the U.S. As for Osama bin Laden, Panetta said it�s been years since the U.S. had good intelligence about his whereabouts.
Panetta estimated there are fewer than 100 al-Qaida militants operating inside Afghanistan, with the rest hiding along Pakistan�s mountainous western border. He said U.S. drone strikes and other spy operations have helped to �take down� half of al-Qaida�s senior leaders.
�We are engaged in the most aggressive operations in the history of the CIA in that part of the world, and the result is that we are disrupting their leadership,� Panetta said.
At the same time, Panetta offered a less upbeat assessment of the U.S. fight against the Taliban, the anti-U.S. insurgency operating inside Afghanistan�s borders.
When asked whether the Taliban has grown stronger since Obama took office, Panetta said the Taliban has been acting more violent and being more aggressive in �going after our troops,� including its use of roadside bombs.
As challenges in Afghanistan remain, the political clock is ticking. Many of Obama�s most ardent Democratic supporters on Capitol Hill have said they are unsure that more U.S. troops and money can solve the problem.
Sen. Carl Levin,, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said troops should begin pulling out in July 2011, as Obama promised, because the Afghans must get the message that they need to take responsibility for their country.
He even would like to see a major military operation in Kandahar delayed until more Afghans can join the fight. He estimates fewer than 9,000 Afghan forces are operating in Kandahar � a fraction of those needed to take control of the city known as the Taliban�s spiritual heartland.