Tuesday September 22, 2009

Pentagon delays Afghan troop request - report

By JoAnne Allen and Golnar Motevalli

WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The Pentagon has told its top commander in Afghanistan not to ask for extra troops until the Obama administration completes a strategy review, The Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the new commander for the international troops in Afghanistan, attends a meeting of the chiefs of defence staff of the 28 Nato member countries in Sintra September 18, 2009. (REUTERS/Nacho Doce)

Army General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of U.S and NATO forces in Afghanistan, warned in a confidential assessment leaked to the media on Monday that without additional troops the mission "will likely result in failure".

A senior Pentagon official said the administration had asked for the reprieve so it can complete a review of the U.S.-led war effort, the Journal reported.

"We have to make sure we have the right strategy" before looking at additional troop requests, the official told the newspaper. "Things have changed on the ground fairly considerably."

There are already more than 100,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan battling an insurgency which has taken control of parts of the south and east of the country in what has so far been the deadliest year for foreign troops since 2001.

The leaking of McChrystal's military report piles more pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama, already squeezed by ebbing public support and scepticism in his own party over troop levels.

Obama has said in interviews over the past week that he will consider deploying more troops after a proper U.S. strategy for Afghanistan has been determined.

McChrystal's troop request, which some officials expected would include roughly 30,000 new combat troops and trainers, is expected to be submitted to Washington in the coming weeks.

Asked about the Journal report, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the hope was that the matter would be resolved soon.

"As Secretary (Robert) Gates said last week, he and others are still working through the process by which General McChrystal will submit his resource request for review," Morrell said.

"It is important to remember that regardless of when General McChrystal sends forth his request, the president first wants to fully discuss his assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and the strategy we are pursuing there before considering any additional resources for that effort," Morrell said.

EUROPEAN SUPPORT

European allies under NATO command whose governments support the war in Afghanistan, often over public opposition, have begun openly wavering. Both Italy and Germany have come under mounting pressure to review their involvement.

British defence ministry sources say London could send up to 1,500 more troops to Afghanistan, if requested, but Prime Minister Gordon Brown has made clear that a focus going forward will have to training Afghan security forces.

Britain has faced a dramatic rise in military casualties this year, most in the restive province of Helmand, and any increase in troops is likely to prove unpopular with voters.

McChrystal's assessment comes at a critical time for Afghanistan, when the war is at its deadliest since it started in 2001 and as Afghans await delayed presidential election results as thousands of complaints and accusations of fraud against incumbent Hamid Karzai are audited by a U.N.-backed watchdog.

Karzai has not yet responded to McChrystal's assessment, but on Monday a defence ministry spokesman said it contained "many positive points and findings".

McChrystal's report places fresh emphasis on protecting Afghan civilians and engaging their support, and says that the military must be more focused on the population than on "seizing terrain or destroying insurgent forces".

Some 800 Afghan civilians were killed between January and May this year alone, according to the United Nations, just over a third caused by international and Afghan forces and more than half by insurgents.

"We welcome what McChrystal has indicated, that protecting Afghan civilians forms the centre piece of military strategy," Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the United Nations in Kabul, said. "That's a welcome move."

(Additional reporting by Luke Baker in LONDON; Editing by David Fox) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakistan)

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