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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged military leaders from the Persian Gulf region to help with security and development of Afghanistan, saying there is only a "fleeting opportunity" now to turn the stalemated war around.
Speaking at a conference in downtown Washington, Gates called the ongoing Pakistan military offensive against insurgents "an encouraging first step" by a government that had long tilted the readiness of its armed forces toward a possible conflict with nuclear neighbor India.
"Also encouraging is the support Afghanistan has received from other nations, including members of the Gulf community," Gates told military officials from a dozen nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.
But he encouraged other countries to do more to improve Afghan governance, security, development and reconstruction. "The application of more resources, improved cooperation, a better integrated civil, military and diplomatic strategy — and the benefit of lessons learned both in-country and in Iraq — present a historic but fleeting opportunity to turn the situation in Afghanistan around," Gates said.
Col. John Spiszer told a Pentagon press conference earlier Tuesday that Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. against insurgents appears to be helping in Afghanistan.
"I think there's a definite impact, and I think it almost can't be overstated," said Spiszer, commander of troops in northeastern Afghanistan along the Pakistani border.
Pakistan's Army and Frontier Corps have been clearing out militants from the Swat Valley and nearby districts since late April and the army has been pounding strongholds of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan in apparent preparation for a major offensive.
Spiszer specifically cited the efforts in Swat, Dir district and the Mohmand and Bajur areas.
"The operations have been going on, and the activity in this area (of Afghanistan) has declined," Spiszer told a Pentagon press conference. "And not just declined, but what I think is happening is weapons are drying up, money is drying up, and there's only so many resources to go around up in the (tribal area) to travel over into Afghanistan."
He gave no figures to quantify the effect. But speaking by videoconference from Jalalabad, Spiszer said commanders have "pretty good evidence" that demand has pushed the prices of weapons and ammunition to double what the were last summer.
"So that's a great sign because there's only so much that they can do ... if they can't pay their fighters, if they can't buy weapons."
