General Stanley McChrystal says, "Tide is Turning Against the Taliban"

In a recent TV interview with "Good Morning America," the top US commander in Afghanistan says the troop surge is shifting the tides against the Taliban.

The General claims a meeting in a river valley of Helmand province is evidence of the shift. The area was once a stronghold of Taliban insurgents.

Helmand and Kandahar province locator map

(USN&WR)

"When I sit in an area the Taliban controlled only seven months ago and now you meet with a shura" -- a traditional village council -- " of elders and they describe with considerable optimism the future, you sense the tide is turning," he said.

But McChrystal added: "It's not a completed mission yet."

An additional 30,000 US troops will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.

source: www.latimes.com
www.operations.mod.uk/ mapping/HelmandProvince.jpg