Afghanistan military situation to worsen next year: Mullen

WASHINGTON â€" The highest-ranking U.S. military officer warned Thursday that the situation in Afghanistan will likely get worse next year and that it will take time to turn it around because it has been headed in "the wrong direction" for the last two years.

Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that U.S.-led forces are "not going to be able to kill our way to victory in Pakistan and Afghanistan" and a new strategy is needed to suppress a resurgent Taliban movement before it's too late.

Violence has increased markedly since 2006 and "the trends are going in the wrong direction unless we take significant steps," Adm. Mullen told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.