U.S. Kandahar Offensive Months Behind Schedule

Thousands of U.S. troops are heading to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan to team up with allied and Afghan forces for "Cooperation for Kandahar," an operation to root out the Taliban in its stronghold, the country's second-largest city. David Gilkey/NPR

Kandahar Offensive Will Take Months Longer Than Planned, U.S. Says -- Washington Post

When the Obama administration decided last fall to accept Hamid Karzai as the legitimate president of Afghanistan for the next five years, there were no illusions that working with him and his government would be easy. It has been even harder than many U.S. officials anticipated.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday that the civilian-military offensive scheduled to begin in the southern city of Kandahar this spring would take months longer than planned. The Afghan government has not produced the civilian leadership and trained security forces it was to contribute to the effort, U.S. officials said, and the support from Kandaharis that the United States was counting on Karzai to deliver has not materialized.

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More News On Kandahar, Afghanistan

Gates Concedes Kandahar Operation Behind Schedule -- NPR
Kandahar Offensive Postponed Until Fall: McChrystal -- Defense Tech
U.S. delays Kandahar operation as gains in Marja falter -- Xinhuanet
Nato upbeat on Afghanistan despite Kandahar delays -- BBC

U.S., Allies Slowly Launch Effort To Tame Kandahar -- NPR
British troops 'unlikely' to go to Kandahar -- The Guardian
British troops to stay in Helmand: Fox rules out a move to join new offensive in Kandahar -- The Daily Mail
Taliban leader in Kandahar killed in raid -- CNN
Kandahar: Your stories of life in a Taliban stronghold -- BBC
Kandahar offensive to target 1,000 Taliban -- Vancouver Sun
Kandahar operation challenges explained -- UPI
Fight in Kandahar: US says it won't look like war -- Fresno Bee/AP
Showtime in Kandahar -- Foreign Policy
Obama’s Afghan Strategy Faces Test in Kandahar -- Robert Maginnis, Human Events
Kandahar hostile to foreign troops -- Rabble.ca
Summer Kandahar initiative may begin to end Taliban -- Billings Gazette
Results of Kandahar offensive may affect future U.S. moves -- Washington Post