Obama and NATO Chief to Talk about Afghanistan

The US president and NATO's Secretary General will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, US officials said

The US president Barack Obama and NATO's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen will discuss NATO's role in the shared interests of the United States and Europe, including in Afghanistan through ISAF's mission, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

He said the two leaders will also discuss the NATO Summit that is planned to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 2010.

The report comes at a time when the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in his visit to the US bases on Friday in southern Afghanistan had said that situation was improving in those provinces, including Kandahar.

In his visit to Kandahar while asked about any US direct military involvement in Pakistan, Mr Gates said the likelihood of direct US military engagement in Pakistan is very low.

Pakistan has realised the importance of fighting insurgents on its soil in the past 18 months, and has effectively fought against militant groups.

US officials hope the recent floods in Pakistan will not undermine its counter-insurgency efforts.

The US military commanders know that the nearly nine-year war cannot be won without a change of strategy in Kandahar.