Key Kandahar offensive faces delays: US commander: "The commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said on Thursday a make-or-break operation in the south will move at a slower pace than initially planned, amid a shortage of Afghan security forces and a wary local population.
General Stanley McChrystal and other senior officers had previously said operations around Kandahar -- the birthplace of the Taliban -- would climax this summer with an influx of American forces, but have begun scaling back their statements.
'I do think it will happen more slowly than we originally anticipated,' McChrystal told reporters in Brussels.
His forecast echoed comments by his deputy in southern Afghanistan, suggesting the Kandahar area is presenting a bigger challenge than NATO commanders had expected."
