Posted on 10/09/2009 12:46:08 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has been presented intelligence estimating Taliban-led forces battling U.S. troops in Afghanistan have nearly quadrupled since 2006 and are increasingly independent of leaders in Pakistan, officials said on Friday.
A U.S. intelligence assessment, showing the number of fighters in the insurgency has reached an estimated 25,000 from 7,000 in 2006, spotlights Taliban gains and the tough choices facing President Barack Obama in trying to reverse the trend.
Some of Obama's advisers see a more concerted crackdown by Pakistan on militants on its side of the border as key to turning the tide in Afghanistan, but U.S. intelligence agencies see little correlation, citing the Afghan insurgency's autonomy and increasing home-grown sophistication, officials said.
Obama launched a broad review of his war strategy after the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, gave him a grim assessment of the war and an Afghan election, marred by fraud charges, raised U.S. doubts about President Hamid Karzai's legitimacy.
At a strategy session on Friday, Obama and his top advisers were expected to discuss for the first time McChrystal's request to deploy 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan next year as part of a beefed up counterinsurgency.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said at least one other strategy session was slated for next week but that decisions by Obama were "probably several weeks away."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Canadian soldiers from A Company, 2nd Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, top-up fuel in their Light Armoured Vehicle and conduct maintenance on their weapons in Panjwayi district in 2006. Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed Friday that Canadian combat troops would leave Afghanistan in 2011, but vowed his country would then focus on boosting development and humanitarian efforts. (AFP/File/John D Mchugh)
One word.
Surge.
and Obama wants to be nice nice with the Taliban and pursue Al Qaeda.
Our COIC with his new Nobel Peace Prize inspires all of us.
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