Pentagon opposes timeline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon on Sunday opposed setting timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan as U.S. President Barack Obama is weighing on a decision whether to further increase troop levels there.

The U.S. Soldiers search for IEDs (improvised explosive device) laid by the Taliban near the village of Eber in Logar province September 26, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told CNN during an interview that setting such timelines or laying out an exit strategy would be a "strategic mistake" that could embolden al-Qaida and the Taliban.

"The reality is, failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States," he said, suggesting that a premature pullout would be perceived by the extremists as a victory over the United States, similar to the former Soviet Union's withdrawal from the country in 1989.

"Taliban and al-Qaida, as far as they're concerned, defeated one superpower. For them to be seen to defeat a second, I think, would have catastrophic consequences in terms of energizing the extremist movement, al-Qaida recruitment, operations, fundraising, and so on," Gates said.