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Obama may be near decision on Afghan plan
2009-10-30
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama heard the opinions of the Pentagon top brass on a commander's troop request for Afghanistan on Friday, and the White House said his lengthy strategy review was nearing the end. An assessment of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan from Army General Stanley McChrystal formed the basis of talks that Obama had in the White House Situation Room with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the leaders of each branch of the U.S. military. "There were no decisions made and I don't have a sense of the timeline for when such a decision will be made. That's obviously the president's purview and his alone," said a senior defense official, who asked not to be named. McChrystal's review had said the war was deteriorating and he recommended as many as 40,000 more U.S. troops for Afghanistan along with a major effort to train Afghan security forces and improve relations with Afghan civilians. "We'll go through the region and talk about General McChrystal's assessment," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters as the talks began. "And as we talk about the assessment, I'm sure the resource request will be part of that discussion." Asked if Obama's review was drawing to an end, Gibbs said: "I think it's nearing its conclusion, yes." He left unclear whether Obama would announce his new plan immediately after Afghanistan's November 7 presidential election runoff or wait until after he returns from a November 11-20 Asia trip. A LOT OF QUESTIONS Obama and his national security team have been debating options for weeks, ranging from a massive troop increase to a strategy that relies less on troop numbers and more on unmanned drone aircraft to attack al Qaeda targets that are mostly located in Pakistan. Friday's session was the first chance the president had to listen to the chiefs directly after reading their written endorsements. The defense official described the session as productive and said Obama asked a lot of questions. The military leaders had ample time to express their views of McChrystal's assessment, the official said. The president has dismissed charges from some conservatives, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, that he has been dithering over what to do about the 8-year-old war while a Taliban offensive has continued apace and U.S. casualties have increased. Vice President Joe Biden defended Obama from the dithering accusation, telling CNN that Obama is doing exactly what any president should do. "I like Dick Cheney personally but I really don't care what Dick Cheney thinks. And I'm not sure a lot of Americans do. ... Look at the policy of neglect they left us in Afghanistan," he said. It has become clear in recent days that administration officials appeared to be laying the ground for a hybrid strategy that would entail a troop increase but not one as large as McChrystal and Republican hawks would prefer. TRAINING AFGHAN FORCES The centerpiece of the emerging strategy would be a counterinsurgency focused on protecting major Afghan population centers, combined with a stepped-up counterterrorism campaign using drones and special operations forces in the countryside and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. One option, potentially more palatable for Obama and his Democrats, would add about 10,000 to 15,000 troops. A large portion of these would be focused on increasing the training of Afghan forces, a top priority for Obama's Democratic allies in Congress. Currently, there are about 67,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 allied forces in Afghanistan. Afghanistan expert Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, urged Obama to follow McChrystal's advice on troop numbers. "General McChrystal has presented a very compelling counter-insurgency strategy that to be resourced requires a minimum of 40,000 troops," Boot said. "Unfortunately, the leaks coming out of the White House are that President Obama will report a much lower troop figure," Boot, who has just returned from a trip to Afghanistan, told reporters. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Sue Pleming; Editing by Xavier Briand)
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