US's Afghanistan strategy +the diplomatic angle...the Pakistan angle +more hardline towards Pakistan +Today, Congress took a step forward to end Pakistan's betrayal of the US with the addition of an additional certification requirement. — Ted Poe (@JudgeTedPoe) 1500058378000NEW DELHI: The ongoing review of theis "hard" because it has to be "wrapped into a regional context" that involves Pakistan , acknowledged US defence secretary James Mattis , in an extraordinarily candid interaction with the media recently. Seriously, this is hard", said Mattis at a press briefing late Friday, when he was asked why the strategy review is taking so long.When he was specifically asked whether it is "" that was complicating matters, he acknowledged it is. "I know everyone's batted around numbers, and they may turn out to be right. But I'm not giving it any credence right now," Mattis said, adding that it depends on a lot of factors.

Source: Times of India July 17, 2017 06:03 UTC