<p>"There are some serious problems here," Leon Panetta, installed last year as President Barack Obama's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, told the ABC network's "This Week" program.<br /><br />"We're dealing with a tribal society. We're dealing with a country that has problems with governance, problems with corruption, problems with narcotics trafficking, problems with a Taliban insurgency.<br /><br />"We are making progress. It's harder, it's slower than I think anyone anticipated."<br />Emboldened perhaps by divisions in the US war effort exposed by the sacking this week of Afghan commander General Stanley McChrystal, Taliban attacks are on the rise -- a fact Panetta did not attempt to hide.<br /><br />"I think the Taliban obviously is engaged in greater violence right now. They're doing more on IED's (improvised explosive devices). They're going after our troops. There's no question about that."<br /><br />Obama says his strategy will be unaffected by the shock departure of McChrystal, whose remarks to a magazine about top Obama administration figures betrayed the toxic ties between the commander and his civilian counterparts.<br /><br />Panetta insisted Obama's surge strategy -- to put 150,000 pairs of boots on the ground by the end of August -- is the right one.</p>
<p>"There are some serious problems here," Leon Panetta, installed last year as President Barack Obama's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, told the ABC network's "This Week" program.<br /><br />"We're dealing with a tribal society. We're dealing with a country that has problems with governance, problems with corruption, problems with narcotics trafficking, problems with a Taliban insurgency.<br /><br />"We are making progress. It's harder, it's slower than I think anyone anticipated."<br />Emboldened perhaps by divisions in the US war effort exposed by the sacking this week of Afghan commander General Stanley McChrystal, Taliban attacks are on the rise -- a fact Panetta did not attempt to hide.<br /><br />"I think the Taliban obviously is engaged in greater violence right now. They're doing more on IED's (improvised explosive devices). They're going after our troops. There's no question about that."<br /><br />Obama says his strategy will be unaffected by the shock departure of McChrystal, whose remarks to a magazine about top Obama administration figures betrayed the toxic ties between the commander and his civilian counterparts.<br /><br />Panetta insisted Obama's surge strategy -- to put 150,000 pairs of boots on the ground by the end of August -- is the right one.</p>