McChrystal wants 40,000 troops for Afghanistan, Obama administration hesitant

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Pentagon chief says no radical shift in strategy on Afghan war

WASHINGTON: The US commander in Afghanistan has asked for a dramatic troop build-up in Afghanistan, a top lawmaker said on Sunday, as President Barack Obama faced competing advice over war strategy.

The US military has declined to reveal the details of General Stanley McChrystal’s troop request but Senator John McCain said the commander had appealed for 30,000 to 40,000 forces. “I think it’s the worst – one of the many worst-kept secrets in Washington. It’s 30,000 to 40,000 troops,” said McCain, the former Republican presidential nominee who urged Obama to meet the commander’s request. McCain’s comments were the latest sign of an intense debate over the US-led mission, as Obama weighs whether to send more troops amid waning public support for the war and an Afghan election marred by fraud allegations.

The US president’s civilian and military advisers, along with key lawmakers in his own party, are divided over the way ahead, with some top army officers worried about placing undue strain on an already-stretched force, the New York Times reported. Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and top military officer, has told Obama he is skeptical about deploying more troops without a more clearly defined mission, the Times wrote, citing unnamed sources. Vice President Joe Biden and National Security Adviser James Jones, a retired general, are among those skeptical of a major troop increase, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Richard Holbrooke, the US representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, have a more hawkish stance, the paper said.

No shift: Defence Secretary Robert Gates, whose advice could be crucial for Obama’s decision, has yet to publicly declare his position on sending more troops to reinforce the US contingent that will reach 68,000 by the year’s end. In an interview, the Pentagon chief denied any rift between the military and the White House over the war in Afghanistan and suggested a possible radical shift in strategy was unlikely. “I don’t think that’s the case at all,” he told ABC television’s “This Week” when asked whether there was tension between military and civilian leaders. Citing an extensive conversation on the telephone on Wednesday with McChrystal, Gates said the general supported Obama’s preference to take time to review strategy before weighing a request for more forces. He mentioned no deadline, but said he expected the White House strategy review would take “a few weeks”. Once the review was complete, Gates said he would formally convey to Obama the commander’s request, which was presented to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen on Friday.

McChrystal, who oversees more than 100,000 NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, has warned in a grim assessment that without more troops in the next year, the war could be lost at the hands of the Taliban. Answering criticism that Obama was stalling on the troop request, Gates said the pace for decision-making under former president George W Bush on the Iraq war was slower, with the debate on strategy in 2006 lasting three months. “Counter-terrorism is only possible if you have the kind of intelligence that allows you to target the terrorists,” he said, citing discussions with Pentagon experts on the issue. afp

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