A key senator on Monday said US public support for the Afghan war will likely hinge on the outcome of operations in Kandahar later this year, amid unease among Democrats in Congress.

Backing among American voters for the war effort "will depend on this fall in Kandahar," Senator Carl Levin told defense reporters.

"I would say in September and October, when we expect an acceleration of operations in Kandahar, will have a major effect on it (public support)," Levin said.

"Success is very important," said Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

US military commanders say pivotal operations in and around Kandahar city, the Taliban's birthplace, have been postponed to allow more time to secure political support among local leaders and Afghans.

Levin said President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats in Congress still back the US-led fight against Taliban insurgents but there are "the beginnings of a fraying of that support."

Both Democratic lawmakers and the loyal "base" of the party were worried about the course of the nearly nine-year-old war, he said.

However, the Democrats retained confidence in Obama's leadership and found reassurance in a July 2011 target for the start of US drawdown, he said.

"That (mid-2011) date was critically important towards maintaining the support of the American people for a war which has gone on so long," the senator said.

Levin renewed his criticism of what he called a shortage of Afghan forces in the volatile south, where he said the country's army and police should be deployed in greater numbers and playing a more prominent role.

"The success of the mission is dependent upon the Afghan military growing in number and growing in capability," he said.

He said about 5,300 Afghan forces are on the ground in Kandahar and 6,900 foreign troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, with the Afghan contingent due to expand to 8,500 by October — compared to 11,850 coalition troops.

"That is totally unacceptable to me," he said.

With about 119,000 troops, the Afghan army had ample resources to deploy more units to the southern province, he said, saying operations in Kandahar needed to have an "Afghan face."

Levin predicted General David Petraeus would be swiftly confirmed by the Senate as the new commander in Afghanistan after Obama named him to replace General Stanley McChrystal last week.

Levin's armed services committee is due to hold confirmation hearings starting on Tuesday.

McChrystal was forced to step down after he and his aides made disparaging remarks about their civilian counterparts in the Obama administration.

earlier related report

Norway minister to bring dead troops back from Afghanistan
Oslo (AFP) June 28, 2010 –

Norwegian Defence Minister Grete Faremo said Monday she would personally travel to Afghanistan to bring home the four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb hit their convoy.

"I will accompany the coffins back home," she told reporters in Oslo a day after the deadly attack, adding that she would "travel to Afghanistan as soon as possible."

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life, and said the attack was a cruel reminder of the dangers involved in Norway's participation in the military mission in Afghanistan.

"Even if we do everything in our power to ensure our soldiers' safety, we can never be certain to avoid losses like the ones we suffered yesterday (Sunday)," he told the Oslo press conference.

"We know that the Norwegian forces are meeting a growing resistance in Afghanistan, and there are large challenges," he acknowledged, stressing however the importance of Norway's involvement in the NATO mission there.

"We also know that the NATO presence in Afghanistan has prevented Al-Qaeda and other terror organisations from using the country as a deployment area for terror attacks against other countries," he pointed out.

The four soldiers, aged 21 to 41, were inside an armoured vehicle when it was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern Afghan province of Faryab Sunday.

The blast nearly doubled Norway's death toll in Afghanistan to nine and accounted for the most Norwegian troop casualties suffered in a single attack since World War II.

June has been the deadliest month for international troops under NATO command fighting an almost nine-year Islamist insurgency led by the Taliban.

With the latest deaths, 98 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to an AFP count.

Norway has about 500 soldiers in the country, most of them stationed in the capital Kabul or in the north.

Prior to Sunday's deaths, the last Norwegian soldier killed in Afghanistan died in January, also in a roadside bomb attack.

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