By Jonathon Burch
KABUL, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Washington's review of its war strategy in Afghanistan would do little to arrest worsening conditions, Afghan politicians, aid groups and analysts said, and some expressed disappointment with its limited conclusions.
U.S. President Barack Obama's review, released on Thursday, found U.S. and NATO forces were making headway against the Taliban and al Qaeda but serious challenges remained. It said the Taliban's momentum had been arrested in much of Afghanistan and reversed in some areas. [ID:nN16182656]
"The problem is not with the tactics, the problem is with the strategy, with the overall vision in this country and in the region," said Fawzia Kufi, an outspoken lawmaker from Badakhshan province in Afghanistan's northeast.
"We need to focus on ... the roots of terrorism, which in many cases is not in Afghanistan," she said.
The review described Pakistan as central to the success of the strategy in the region, although progress in ties with Islamabad had been uneven.
Afghan insurgents have long used bases in largely lawless northwest Pakistan as sanctuaries and training grounds, complicating efforts to quell the insurgency.
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There was no immediate reaction to the review from the presidential palace, although a spokesman said before its release Obama had telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss its findings.
"POLITICAL ASPIRATION"
The review said the United States was on track to begin a gradual withdrawal of its troops -- now numbering about 100,000 in a total foreign force of 150,000 -- from July 2011.
Norine MacDonald, president of policy research group the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) who is based in Afghanistan, called that date "a political aspiration".
"This short document itself concedes that what gains we see can be counted as fragile and reversible," she told Reuters.
"Here we are with gains being noted for the first time because of the troop surge and the next thing said is that troops should start coming out in six months."
Others said that, regardless of the review's findings, the war in Afghanistan would get worse next year and the suffering of the Afghan people would increase.
"Our major concern for the time being is the fact we seem to be entering a more and more murky phase of the conflict," Bijan Farnoudi, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul, told Reuters.
He said more and more armed groups were emerging, some associated with the insurgency, some with the government and others with criminal groups.
"What it really means ... is that it brings the conflict really to people's doorsteps," he said shortly before the summary of the review was released.
On Wednesday, the ICRC said in a rare public statement that worsening violence was making it harder than at any time in the past three decades for aid groups to reach those in need. [ID:nSGE6BE0C4]
The ICRC had already made it clear it disagreed with Washington's findings that progress was being made.
"Our assessment is that we're worried," Farnoudi said.
"We're worried about more displacement, we're worried about more civilian casualties, we're worried about more difficulties with people to access healthcare and we're worried about more armed groups being around."
(Writing by Paul Tait, Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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