Updated on
Summary
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a decisive phase in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province. NATO is sending thousands of extra troops to Kandahar over the next few months as part of plans to restore control over Kandahar, a central part of President Barack Obama's strategy to reverse momentum in the 8-year-old war. The operation to restore government control in Kandahar is the main military objective remaining in Obama's strategy, which aims to turn the tide this year with 30,000 extra troops so that US forces can begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in mid-2011.
