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Ear to the Ground

White House: No News (Yet) on Afghanistan Strategy

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Posted on Sep 21, 2009
troops in Afghanistan
Flickr / Army.mil

U.S. Army soldiers stand guard during a halt in a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan in April 2007.

Although the Obama administration was well aware of the fact that, by Monday morning, everyone and his cousin knew about Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s warning about “mission failure” in Afghanistan, which the general had issued to the White House as part of a report that found its way into the clutches of Washington Post journalists, there will be no official call for more troops until an equally official request is submitted. —KA

The Guardian:

[Spokesman Robert] Gibbs said the White House did not expect a formal request for more troops just yet. Gibbs’s comments came in response to a blunt assessment that McChrystal prepared for the US defence secretary, Robert Gates. A copy has been obtained by the Washington Post.

McChrystal was scathing about corruption within the Afghan government and the tactics used by the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) troops he took command of in June.

“Failure to provide adequate resources ... risks a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs and, ultimately, a critical loss of political support,” he wrote in the 66-page document. “Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure.”

According to the Washington Post, McChrystal has prepared a separate detailed request for additional troops and other resources, but defence officials told the newspaper he was awaiting instructions before sending it to the Pentagon. Obama has been forced to fend off accusations that the administration ordered McChrystal to hold back this formal request.

In the leaked report, McChrystal wrote that “Isaf requires more forces”, mentioning “previously validated, yet unsourced, requirements”—seemingly a reference to a request for 10,000 extra troops by his predecessor, General David McKiernan.

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By onexquisite, September 24 at 12:19 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

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By london, September 22 at 1:20 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

More troops or failure…..please await while president Obama do something…

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By lucie lanes, September 21 at 10:11 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I don’t know, can he say no to General McChrystal? If he needs to say no, I hope he does, but if he says yes, I hope he does what he needs to for the continued protection of our country and the USA.

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By msgmi, September 21 at 9:54 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

The WH strategy of nation building in Afghanistan smells of the same illusionary political rhetoric as was said about Iraq. Nation building starts with security and the will of the indigenous people. It requires foreign assistance and the will of the indigenous people. It requires a government supported by the will of the indigenous people. It requires a security force of loyal indigenous people. Since all these elements can be accomplished in several years as stated by the commanders on the ground, Victory is not far off the horizon. In a couple of years a miracle is about to happen in a land dominated for over two thousand years by an ancient traditional culture.

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By Observer, September 21 at 7:35 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Instead of >pretending to be smart< - stating courageously this bottom line fact that this war cannot be won - over what has turned already into a simple bloody reality for many,let`s hope that McChrystal has become >smart enough< to realize this all important matter of fact !

Because they normally don`t care about others - even the staggering cost of this ill advised war or the war in Iraq,for that matter - which the > Bushies and their evil Cohorts < conveniently started, let`s not forget -
one can only hope that some sort of > needed
Sanity < has finally set in starting from the Top.

Some people never learn, others even later ...

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By Carl, September 21 at 3:32 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Its very simple. We can’t drawdown troops in Iraq unless we shift these deployments somewhere else. After a decade of effort, the Generals have finally been allowed to expand their army, and if there is no conflict to justify them, that may fall apart.

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