General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, has warned against expecting rapid results from the planned offensive against the Taliban in the southern city of Kandahar.

The military and political efforts against the Taliban around Kandahar, Afghanistan's second largest city, are the next step in the US-led strategy to end a war now in its ninth year.

"I do think it will happen more slowly than we had originally anticipated ... I think it is more important we get it right than we get it fast," McChrystal said.

However, his comment seems to contradict other recent statements made by US leaders on operations in Afghanistan.

Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane takes a looks at the mixed messages and what they all mean.