Remember, these reports are contradictory, and they come from two of the top US officials after over 6 years of Bush as CinC leading the war effort with every penny for which he's asked, for every soldier for which he's asked granted to him. Clearly these guys want to paint a best-case situation.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "A resurgent Taliban is back in charge over parts of Afghanistan, the nation's chief intelligence official said Wednesday in an assessment that differed from the one made last month by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"More than six years after the United States invaded Afghanistan, the Taliban has regained control of about 10 percent of the country, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee."

Previously, the SecDef reported:
"Just a few weeks ago, Gates touted NATO military success in Afghanistan in 2007 and said the Taliban controlled no land. "The Taliban occupy no territory in Afghanistan on a continuing basis," Gates said during a Pentagon briefing in January.

Despite his less-optimistic assessment on that score, McConnell said the Taliban has suffered "significant degradation" in its leadership and is unable to successfully face off against U.S. and NATO forces.

He attributed an uptick in violence to the Taliban resorting to the terrorist tactics used by al Qaeda in Iraq -- suicide attacks and roadside bombings.

McConnell also said the Taliban chooses other means to engage.

"They'll fill in an area when we withdraw, or they will influence a village or region if our presence is not there," he said.

Arf