NATO chief deems Afghan success vital

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Success in Afghanistan is necessary in order to ensure the country does not fall into the hands of terrorists, the NATO secretary-general said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour said the international war effort in Afghanistan must focus on defeating the terrorist threat.

"We can't allow Afghanistan once again to become a safe haven for terrorists," he said. "Therefore, we must succeed."

His comments follow an assessment of the conflict by U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top military commander in Afghanistan, who warned the mission would "likely result in failure" without renewed focus on strategy and force commitments.

Rasmussen agreed, adding that any strategy for Afghanistan should focus on the development of a national force capable of sustaining its own level of peace.

The McChrystal assessment comes against a growing level of frustration with the progress in the war as U.S. casualties mount. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., however, said he agreed with the majority of the recommendations offered by the general.

Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also challenged a request for congressional testimony from senior military commanders responsible for Afghanistan.

It would be "premature," the senator said, to hold such a hearing before leaders in Washington had the chance to vet McChrystal's recommendations.