BBC:A top US general in Afghanistan has called for a revised military strategy, suggesting the current one is failing.
In a strategic assessment, Gen Stanley McChrystal said that, while the Afghan situation was serious, success was still achievable.
The report has not yet been published, but sources say Gen McChrystal sees protecting the Afghan people against the Taliban as the top priority.
The report does not carry a direct call for increasing troop numbers.
"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," Gen McChrystal said in the assessment.
The problem? We really haven't made a positive impact on anyone's life.
Gen McChrystal's blunt assessment will say that the Afghan people are undergoing a crisis of confidence because the war against the Taliban has not made their lives better, says BBC North America editor Mark Mardell.
The general says the aim should be for Afghan forces to take the lead -- but their army will not be ready to do that for three years and it will take much longer for the police.
And he will warn that villages have to be taken from the Taliban and held, not merely taken.
The report also tells us that McChrystal believes Taliban fighters are driven by desperation, not ideology; the general "wants more engagement with the Taliban fighters and believes that 60% of the problem would go away if they could be found jobs."
We need to start thinking about different ways to use the military -- i.e., less destruction, more construction. Over in the middle east, groups like Hamas have gained popularity not because people like their politics, but because they do things like build schools and hospitals. We need to change people's lives over there, not just their government. Blowing up people and buildings with military drones isn't going to accomplish much.
