U.S. Officials Visit Afghanistan's Turbulent South

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 11 -- U.S. defense and military officials told local leaders in the southern city of Qalat on Tuesday that the way to thwart an increasingly aggressive Taliban movement is to build a strong government.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld traveled by helicopter to Qalat to meet with the governor of violent Zabol province, Delbar Jan Arman. The NATO-led international security force for Afghanistan is slated to take over security responsibility in southern Afghanistan by the end of this month, and U.S. officials have called Arman a leader who can turn things around with the help of the NATO forces and the U.S. troops that remain in the region.

The transition to the international force, known as ISAF, in the south is being carried out in tandem with Operation Mountain Thrust, a U.S.-led push to oust the Taliban from parts of the southern desert and mountains. The operation has met considerable resistance, which military officials here attributed to the coalition taking the fight to "the terrorists," whom they described as a mix of Taliban guerrillas, narcotics traffickers, tribal fighters and foreign extremists. Those fighters have adopted tactics similar to those employed by insurgents in Iraq, such as roadside bombs and coordinated small-arms attacks on military convoys.

"We're bumping into them a lot more because we're out there a lot more," said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 76 in Afghanistan. He added that it was possible the Taliban was testing the mettle of other countries -- such as Britain and Canada -- that are sending troops as part of the NATO forces.

Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that the violence is far worse in parts of the country that lack government control, but that U.S. and NATO forces have the momentum. Military officials said increased organization on the part of Taliban fighters, who are attacking in larger groups than in the past, has in some ways helped the coalition because its strikes cause more Taliban casualties.

The violence has had real consequences for U.S. troops: June was the second-deadliest month for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since Taliban rule was toppled more than four years ago, with 18 U.S. troops killed, one in a helicopter crash. Only June 2005 was deadlier, when 27 U.S. troops died, 19 in attacks on helicopters.

"The people who are determined to spread violent extremism around the world are people who are determined," Rumsfeld said at a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential compound in Kabul. "They do not like to see a country like Afghanistan become a successful democracy. And they would like to do everything they can to stop it."

Rumsfeld spent much of the day in Kabul meeting with government officials and NATO leaders and assuring them that the United States will maintain a robust presence even as NATO works toward taking over ISAF.

In the coming months, the United States will reduce its strength in the south from about 3,500 troops to a 2,200-strong "bridge force" to help NATO assume control, military officials said. A large role will be played by the 23 Provincial Reconstruction Teams deployed throughout the nation, which are basically surrogates for local government, with 12 led by the United States.

In Qalat, Rumsfeld said the 90-member team there has made significant progress, opening schools, building roads and shoring up government services.

Arman, the governor of Zabol, told defense officials that he thinks roads are the most important infrastructure improvement because they allow burgeoning Afghan forces and U.S. troops to reach remote areas where the Taliban has held control without challenge.

Arman said he felt as if "we're not alone in fighting these terrorists" and said public opinion in his region is turning against the Taliban.

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling in Washington contributed to this report.