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PARIS The top US commander in Afghanistan defended Friday his decision to pull forces out of the notorious Korengal Valley, despite Taliban commanders claiming victory there.
General Stanley McChrystal, in Paris to discuss strategy with Nato officers, told reporters that US troops had been unwelcome among Korengals fiercely independent tribesmen and would be more useful elsewhere.
“With limited forces you always have to put your forces where youll get the best outcome,” he said, explaining that the withdrawal was part of his plan to better protect civilians in more populated areas.
The decision has worried McChrystals Afghan allies, some of whom fear that Taliban rebels might turn the valley into a rear-base on the porous Pakistani border from which to launch attacks on coalition forces.
US troops have been fighting for five years in the valley, and lost more than 40 comrades defending what has been dubbed the “Valley of Death”.
Following this weeks US withdrawal, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed claimed “This has been a great victory for us.”But McChrystal said the tribesmen in the area were not fighting as Taliban rebels but simply to defend their own independent way of life.
“I was in the Korengal Valley last week ... and I walked a patrol with Afghan National Army commandos because I wanted to see for myself how it was as we begin to withdraw out,” he told reporters.
“The Korengal valley is a unique location. Its very, very remote. The people speak a separate language, Korengali. The people are very insular to themselves,” he said.
“Its our assessment that our presence inside the valley doesnt really make them more secure. In fact it probably is a foreign entity in their valley when they would rather be left alone.
“I also dont believe that they are likely to come out of their valley to cause problems for the government of Afghanistan. So its one of those decisions that I think will be proven correct.”
McChrystal said he was not in a position to judge whether it had been a mistake for previous US commanders to deploy to Korengal in the first place. -AFP
