Hillary Clinton calls for diplomatic surge in Afghanistan

During an almost one-hour-long policy speech at the famous think tank Asia Society in New York, Hillary Clinton outlined that the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is not only based on military action. She emphasized that the U.S. strategy is three-fold and includes a civilian campaign as well as intensified diplomacy.

"In pursuing this goal, we are following a strategy with three mutually reinforcing tracks, three surges if you will," Clinton said.

"A military offensive against Al Qaida terrorists and Taliban insurgents; a civilian campaign to bolster the governments, economies and civil societies of Afghanistan and Pakistan to undercut the paw of the insurgency; an intensified diplomatic push to bring the Afghan conflict to an end, and chart a new and secure future for the region," she said.

She pointed out that the number of American civilians working in Afghanistan has been tripled over the last year to a total of 11,000 experts. The civilian operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan are crucial for the security at home, according to the Secretary of State. And she stressed that guns and bombs alone can't bring an end to insurgency.

"We will never kill enough insurgents to end this war out right. The military campaign must proceed hand in hand with a robust civilian effort," she said.

Clinton said the United States will focus more on diplomacy in 2011 and attempt to integrate other nations in the area to make a U.S. troop withdrawal by 2014 a realistic goal. The U.S. has nearly 100,000 troops in the region.

Also on Friday, Clinton formally announced that former Ambassador to Turkey Marc Grossman will replace Richard C. Holbrooke as special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Marc Grossman served as a diplomat in Pakistan earlier in his career. Richard C. Holbrooke, who was the Chairman of Asia Society between 2002 and 2009, died last December. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version