Afghanistan War Updates -- October 10, 2008

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Edward Dudick provides overwatch protection in the village of Khormelq, Afghanistan, during a shura meeting of village elders and Farah Provincial Governor Azadi Roohul Amin, Oct. 2, 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt

Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff Mullen Sees Afghanistan Worsening Into Next Year -- Yahoo News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan will escalate in 2009 unless the United States and other countries move quickly to counter an intensifying Taliban insurgency with troops and assistance, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.

"The trends, across-the-board, are not going in the right direction," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

Afghanistan, which has seen violence soar over the past two years, needs not only military assistance from the West but also major infusions of economic, diplomatic and political aid, according to Mullen.

"It's been very, very tough fighting this year and it will be tougher next year unless we (develop) a way to get at all aspects of the challenge," he said.

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More War News Updates On Afghanistan

Joint Chiefs head: ‘Enablers’ needed in troop-scarce Afghanistan -- Christian Science Monitor
New Strategy to Broaden Scope, Coordination in Afghanistan, Mullen Says -- U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. plans to train Afghanistan tribal militias -- L.A. Times
Afghan Forces Receive NATO Weapons -- U.S. Department of Defense
36 militants, 10 civilians said killed in Afghanistan: US forces -- Yahoo News/AFP
Petraeus Offers Words of Caution on Iraq, Afghanistan Outlook -- U.S. News And World Report
U.S. Urgently Reviews Policy On Afghanistan -- Washington Post
U.S. Study Is Said to Warn of Crisis in Afghanistan -- New York Times
NATO to meet as Afghan war effort founders -- Breitbart/AP
US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report -- The Guardian
Taleban violence in Afghanistan is on the rise, say US agencies -- Times Online
US intelligence: Afghanistan in 'downward spiral' under Hamid Karzai's government -- The Telegraph
Security Force Nations Look Ahead on Afghanistan -- U.S. Department Of Defense
Gates Seeks European Troops for Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Gates Urges NATO to Take On Afghan Drug Traffickers -- Washington Post
NATO seeks to overcome divide on Afghan drugs plan -- Reuters
Defense Ministers Seek Ways to Halt Taliban’s Drug Money -- U.S. Department of Defense
US Calls On NATO to Target Afghanistan Opium Trade -- Voice Of America
NATO seeks to overcome divide on Afghan drugs plan -- Swiss Info
Doubts on war strategy leave US open to Taliban talks -- Financial Times
US prepared to accept reconciliation with Taliban: Defence secretary -- Radio Australia
US mulls Taliban reconciliation -- Al Jazeera
Pentagon sees reconciliation with Taliban, not Qaeda -- Reuters
Financial crisis will not detract from Taliban fight, says John Hutton -- The Telegraph
Financial crisis set to engulf NATO's Afghan mission -- Radio Netherlands
Provincial Reconstruction Team Aids Peace, Stability -- U.S. Department Of Defense