Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. is "running out of time" to win the war in Afghanistan, and sending in more troops will not guarantee victory, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned Congress on Wednesday. Adm. Michael Mullen made his statement to the House Armed Services Committee a day after President Bush announced the deployment of 4,500 additional troops to the poor, war-ravaged nation. Mullen said he is convinced the war can be won, but the U.S. urgently needs to improve its nation-building initiatives and its cross-border strategy with Pakistan. "We can't kill our way to victory, and no armed force anywhere -- no matter how good -- can deliver these keys alone. It requires teamwork and cooperation," Mullen said. The Taliban government harboring the al Qaeda movement that conducted the 9/11 attacks was overthrown soon after U.S. and British troops entered the country in October 2001, but the militants have re-established their presence there. And Mullen says they've grown "bolder." Cross-border attacks into Afghanistan by militants in Pakistan's tribal region are a problem. Mullen stressed that Afghanistan can't be referenced without "speaking of Pakistan," where, he says, the militant groups collaborate and communicate better, launch more sophisticated attacks, employ foreign fighters and use civilians as human shields.