UPDATE 3-Mullen sees Afghanistan worsening into next year

(New throughout)

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan will escalate in 2009 unless the United States and other countries move quickly to counter an intensifying Taliban insurgency with troops and assistance, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.

"The trends, across-the-board, are not going in the right direction," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

Afghanistan, which has seen violence soar over the past two years, needs not only military assistance from the West but also major infusions of economic, diplomatic and political aid, according to Mullen.

"It's been very, very tough fighting this year and it will be tougher next year unless we (develop) a way to get at all aspects of the challenge," he said.

"It's the full spectrum -- the political piece, the diplomatic piece, the economic piece, in addition to the security piece -- that's got to improve dramatically."

But Mullen said the United States, NATO and other countries have failed so far to forge the kind of strategic unity necessary to stem the rise in violence.

"One of the big struggles we have is developing a comprehensive approach to all of this," the admiral said. "We're just not there."

"I don't think it's going to turn around overnight. So I would anticipate next year being a tougher year," he added.

The chairman was speaking at a meeting with newspaper reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. A recording of his remarks was obtained by Reuters.

Earlier on Thursday, the New York Times said a new U.S. intelligence report has concluded that Afghanistan is spiraling downward amid doubts about whether the Kabul government can stem the Taliban's rise.

The Bush administration is in the midst of a wide-ranging review of its strategy on Afghanistan in hopes of finding long-term solutions to problems, according to officials.

"Afghanistan is a difficult place. It has made progress since 2001. We have all talked about new circumstances that have arisen there and we are doing a review to look to see what more we can do," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at a different venue.

SOPHISTICATED INSURGENCY

Afghanistan is gripped by an increasingly sophisticated insurgency, particularly in provinces near its eastern border with Pakistan, where U.S. officials say the fighting is fueled by militant safe havens across the border.  Continued...