US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, is currently on a visit to Afghanistan. The US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, gave an upbeat assessment saying they have arrested the momentum of Taliban in many parts of Afghanistan and that there had been significant progress in the recent months. He also updated him on the progress at the eastern border with Pakistan on American casualties and increase in violence. Lt. Col. J. B. Vowell told Mr. Gates in a briefing at the base that violence in June had increased by 200 percent over the last year and that insurgents were fighting hard to try to gain negotiating strength in anticipated reconciliation talks. US officials say the troops increase is beginning to show signs of turning around the 9-year-old war but also concede that stability in Afghanistan, and large-scale withdrawals of foreign forces, may not be possible before 2014. US President Barack Obama has announced that US forces will start leaving from July next year while the NATO summit held last month decided to handover complete security responsibility of Afghanistan to national forces by 2014. US administration is conducting a review of its war strategy which will be announced later this month. Mr. Gates is scheduled to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai today and discuss the current security situation.AIR correspondent Santosh Kumar reports from Kabul that as war progresses in Afghanistan, attention is shifting to eastern part of the country, way from southern provinces where Taliban was considered to be strong. A recent survey found that people in southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces are feeling better in past few months because of NATO offensive. US officials are terming the progress as turning point in the war against Taliban but are way of the threat posed by Haqqani network in eastern provinces. US commander in the eastern province Major General John Campbell was even apprehensive of US Secretary’s visit to forward base due to security threat. Mr Gates agreed that it will be a while before they break the momentum of enemy and warned of tougher losses as war goes ahead.”