The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan says the security situation there is no longer "deteriorating."

The comments by Gen. Stanley McChrystal are in contrast to NATO and Afghan officials who say the Taliban is expanding its influence and creating an explosive situation.

McChrystal says that he agrees that the Taliban has made strides and that he is "not prepared to say we've turned a corner." But at the same time, he says, the Afghan government is making real progress and he is feeling more optimistic than last summer when he warned the situation was deteriorating.

McChrystal says the change came largely because of hard fighting by Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces. In a briefing with reporters Thursday between NATO meetings in Istanbul, McChrystal said allied nations have paid for the improvements in lost lives.

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