Admiral Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, says the United States should know by the end of this year whether the strategy is working.

If all goes as planned, withdrawals could begin by next July. But insurgent attacks have increased and progress has been slower than expected in the south.

Thirty thousand more American troops are joining the war. But public support is down and concerns in Congress are up.

June is the deadliest month yet for international forces in Afghanistan. And problems continue with the development of the Afghan security forces and with corruption among Afghan officials.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

Based on reporting by VOA's Meredith Buel, Kent Klein, Jim Malone, Al Pessin, Carolyn Presutti, Robert Raffaele, Jerome Socolovsky and Gary Thomas.