Posted on 11/08/2009 12:21:07 AM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is wrapping up deliberations on war strategy in Afghanistan and is considering final Pentagon options that include sending about 30,000 more troops, officials said on Saturday.
A deployment of that size would be less than the 40,000-troop increase recommended by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, but more than many of Obama's Democratic allies may support.
Record combat deaths have eroded U.S. public support for the war, and a decision to expand troop levels could become a political liability for the president ahead of congressional elections next year.
Currently, there are about 67,000 U.S. troops and 40,000 allied forces in Afghanistan.
Under one of the final Pentagon options presented to the White House, three additional combat brigades would be deployed and a division headquarters set up near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold, as part of a 30,000-troop increase.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Obama has settled on a troop increase but has yet to make up his mind about its size.
Brigades generally include 3,500 to 4,000 troops, though they can swell to over 5,000 troops if other units are attached. Marine brigades can be larger.
Obama, who will visit Asia from Nov 12-19, is expected to announce his decision within a few weeks, possibly after Afghan President Hamid Karzai's inauguration. Karzai was re-elected in a controversial poll tainted by fraud.
The timing may hinge on the extent to which Karzai embraces U.S. and European calls for a pact under which his government would commit to taking concrete steps to fight corruption and improve governance, including the delivery of public services.
Washington believes a successful counterinsurgency strategy against the Taliban hinges in large part on winning Afghan public support for the government in Kabul.
But Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said earlier this week that the re-elected president's legitimacy among the Afghan people was "at best, in question right now and, at worst, doesn't exist."
OPTIONS NARROW
Senior Obama administration officials have stepped up consultations with key allies, laying the ground for an announcement on strategy and troop levels.
In his confidential troop request, McChrystal said 40,000 additional troops were needed to help secure Afghan population centers and to give NATO some additional resources to take on Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in outlying areas.
Another option, deemed more risky by McChrystal, calls for between 10,000 and 15,000 more troops, which would enable the commander to focus on securing population centers but provide few additional resources to broaden the anti-Taliban campaign.
A third option -- to send an additional 80,000 troops to mount a more robust counterinsurgency against the Taliban across the country -- was widely seen as a non-starter from the onset of the White House review.
Support for continuing a counterinsurgency strategy with a greater focus on protecting major Afghan population centers has been growing within the Obama administration.
Counterinsurgency advocates include Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military leaders, including McChrystal.
Officials said this strategy could be combined with a stepped up counterterrorism campaign, advocated by Vice President Joe Biden, using unmanned aerial drones and special operations forces to combat Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in the Afghan countryside and near the border with Pakistan.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland; Editing by Paul Simao)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
I get dem's are anti military, anti war, but we are now there and this country needs to keep this country safe from terror, it is just that simple.
He needs to decide and decide NOW.
(snort)
Thought the same thing when I saw Biden’s name of course I pretty much think this is a trial balloon, Obama is about splitting the difference.
Screw it .... just bring our MEN HOME... IF FUHRER OBAMA cannot DECIDE what to do...
Maybe we can get our troops to do something USEFUL.. like CIRCLE WASH DC to KEEP THIS LIBERAL VIRUS from escaping??
I love our troops, but if our FUHRER will not let them accomplish their mission... I don’t want them to die for a liberal SCUMSUCKER.
This man can't hide his distaste of the military he is Commander and Chief of.
He drags his feet and worries about the "politics" of it all. Meanwhile our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are being killed in Afghanistan.
I mean HELL, he just this week visited for the FIRST TIME since being pres__ent Walter Reid Army Hospital.
Need I remind anyone that it has been exactly a YEAR since he was elected and he is only NOW traveled the eight or so miles it takes to get to this hospital from the White House?
Meanwhile he has been to ALL FOUR CORNERS of the globe first.
Our military men and women must be sick to their stomachs.
I tend to trust the initial idea, though. So in the end, the dems are going to pray the economy recovers (which would be less likely with this boondoggle enacted), and then when people's minds aren't so much on the economy, complain that the Republicans stopped healthcare. I don't think it will work, but it's either that, or they won't talk about it at all in the midterms.
I understand your anger and frustration and frankly your point of view, if you are going to ignore the commander’s on the ground, the very man you selected and instead listen to folks like Biden and Rham and decide to disregard the commander’s than yes we need to bring them home because failure is just not an option.
My beloved always reminds me, the men and women will fight even if given half of what they need and will do so honorably. He is right but at what cost.
When we discuss this I can see the pain he feels, indecision is causing a great deal of harm.
No you do not need to remind me of Walter Reed I am fully aware, he chose to go there the day before he took the oath, the only other hospital he has gone to Landstuhl in Germany.
They can say it was a planned event, but, until the tragic events at Ft Hood he was going to House, than his schedule changed. I do not trust this man.
Evidently Friday former Pres. Bush and his wife went to Ft Hood, did so under the radar because it was about visiting the troops in the hosptial.
One has to wonder, do the folks around Obama learn anything when a former President goes about doing something the right way.
Lastly, Obama will be out of the country on the first Veterans Day since taking office, I think that says everything.
Excellent post, thanks.
He’s got the “Basketball Jones”.
I’m sure he’ll have to stop and give a shout out to his peeps before he gives the deployment order...
I live and work around some of Americas finest everyday...
The answer is very simple in my area......
Just ask for Volunteers to go to the stan to help thier brothers
and watch the local economy collapse as the buses roll down NC 24
The day after the health care destruction vote. This guy is so political. Yeah, a new day in DC. I hope he trips on his prayer rug.
He is an a$$hole. The elections are over, the arrogant SOB thought his non-action on this would help NJ and VA.
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