U.S. needs more work to do in Pak-Afghan border: top law-maker

Washington, Aug 7 (PTI) A senior Democratic law-maker,
who recently visited the strife-torn Afghanistan, has said
that the U.S. army made "good" progress in the country but
faces tough resistance from Taliban militants in tribal areas
along the Pakistan border.

"... the situation in the country is good. Progress is
being made. But there's a lot more work to do in the south and
in the east. They (U.S. forces) are concerned about the
Pakistan border with the tribal areas," the Senate majority
leader Harry Reid said.

He was part of a Congressional delegation that recently
visited Afghanistan where they held talks with President Hamid
Karzai and the American field commanders.

With the volatile situation in Iraq seemingly under
control, the Bush administration is contemplating of diverting
resources to the Afghanistan front where there have been
reports of not only a resurgence of the Taliban but a fresh
influx of foreign fighters creating trouble for American and
N.A.T.O. soldiers on the border.

"And, of course, in every conversation we had, Pakistan
came up in that conversation. The generals made it pretty
clear that they need more resources.... everyone is very, very
concerned about the travel areas in Pakistan. Because a lot of
the equipment and people causing this trouble come through
over there.

It's a border of about 1,500 miles. So it's difficult.
There's hundreds and hundreds of different ways to get over
those mountains. And that's a problem they face every day,"
Reid said.

"It would have been better had we maintained a bigger
presence here right after 9/11. All the attention was diverted
to Iraq. And I think it would have been better had we spent
more of our resources here," the Nevada Democratic Senator
said.