WASHINGTON Reuters - U

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and NATO forces are close to achieving "irreversible momentum" in their battle with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, a senior commander said on Wednesday. WorldThe Taliban and other insurgent groups have been strongest in eastern and southern Afghanistan but U.S. Army Major General Michael Tucker said security had improved this year in the east, where U.S. forces lead NATO troops.He said about 80 percent of insurgent activity now took place in southern Afghanistan, where the United States plans to deploy thousands of troops in the coming months to reinforce British, Canadian, Dutch and other NATO soldiers."We're approaching what you could actually, cautiously term irreversible momentum in the east," Tucker told reporters at the Pentagon by videolink from Afghanistan.Tucker, deputy chief of staff for operations for NATO and U.S. forces, said the improvement was partly due to an influx of some 4,000 U.S.

troops to the area earlier this year.A pilot project creating a local community protection force has also begun in the east and economic development efforts are well established there, Tucker said."We have a combination of the right amount of forces... now to cover the area," he said.Efforts by Pakistan to tackle militants on the other side of the border may also have helped reduce violence, he said.In the south, Tucker reiterated the assessment of other senior U.S. officials that NATO and Afghan government forces were stuck in a stalemate with the insurgents."We just simply do not have enough forces to address the needs of the people down there," he said."The enemy, obviously, is taking advantage of that posture that we're certainly going to be addressing here very shortly."The United States plans to deploy some 25,000 more troops to Afghanistan by the end of the summer, most of them to the south, in an effort to curb insurgent violence at its highest levels since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.There are about 40,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan now and around 32,000 troops from other nations, mainly NATO members.A U.S.

official said President Barack Obama would meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani at the White House on May 6 and 7 as he presses a new strategy to stabilize the region.Obama last month announced a new strategy for Afghanistan with the aim of crushing al Qaeda and Taliban militants based there and operating from across the border in Pakistan.(Editing by David Storey) World. Nasir Jamshed found the bowler's gentle swing and pace to his liking as well, stepping down the track to crash one back down the ground.The early hitting started to tell on the fielders as well - Ishant Sharma fumbled to concede a boundary at deep square leg and Praveen failed to sight a skier towards third man.Irfan Pathan, playing his first game of the tournament, came under the hammer as Jamshed slammed one over his head. Irfan responded with two head-high bouncers but was duly dispatched with controlled hooks.The only blip in the opening stand was the running. Shortly after a shy at the striker's end nearly claimed Jamshed, poor calling ended Butt's innings. Misbah slog-swept Sehwag for the first six of the match; Younis took on Chawla and carted him over the roof, hitting against the turn.Dhoni brought the seamers back once the ball got older, but there was hardly any reverse-swing to work with.Misbah had the audacity to walk across the stumps and fetch a boundary off Irfan with a delicate flick of the wrists, something Sehwag did with equal efficiency earlier.Younis punished anything short and wide outside the off stump as he brought up his fifth ODI century - also his third against India.

Misbah continued his on side bashing with swivelled pulls and aptly finished the game with a flick past wide mid-on.The story could have been different had Sehwag carried on.He looked set to tear Pakistan apart for the second time in as many matches with a breathtaking assault, upsetting the bowlers with his improvisation.Misbah bravely persisted with the Powerplays after India had blazed 86 in ten, and Pakistan turned the tide thanks to a double-strike by Abdur Rauf which pegged back at India 91 for three.Yuvraj Singh's brief stint at the crease was punctuated by elegant drives, before Iftikhar Anjum ended his cameo. At 129 for four, the home side felt a surge of optimism and the crowd played along as well.However, Dhoni and Rohit ensured the run-rate never dipped below five an over throughout their 112-run stand. Both batsmen took their time to settle in, but neither played second fiddle.Rohit, who has been struggling for form since the IPL, grafted it out at the start, but displayed sound application and urgency to score at a faster rate than his captain.As the partnership mounted, so did the anxiety for Pakistan as the prospect of a challenging chase loomed. Both brought up their half-centuries off successive balls, in the process completing their century stand, which included 68 singles.The pair set up a seemingly defendable total, but ultimately India found themselves at least 30 runs short.A loss against Sri Lanka on Thursday will mean India will have to wait on the result of the Pakistan-Bangladesh match on Friday to know whether they progress to the final.Can India beat Sir Lanka?.