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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates - Source: Reuters -
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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.
Army General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of US and NATO
forces in Afghanistan, warned in a confidential assessment leaked
to the media 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 US-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
US 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 US 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 UN-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."
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