Pentagon Puts a Hold on Troop Increase Request
Although the word is already out that Gen. Stanley McChrystal is about to submit a formal request to the White House to send more American troops to Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has told McChrystal to wait, perhaps to let the Obama administration reconsider its next move.
Although the word is already out that Gen. Stanley McChrystal is about to submit a formal request to the White House to send more American troops to Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has told McChrystal to wait, perhaps to let the Obama administration reconsider its next move. –KA
Your support matters…The Wall Street Journal:
The administration’s call for a further strategic review — which official said could take weeks — comes as military commanders in the field say the campaign is running out of time and U.S. congressional and public support for the war is flagging.
After weeks of speculation, details of Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s report on Afghanistan were released. What’s striking about his assessment, WSJ’s Peter Spiegel reports, is the urgency of his message.
In a new assessment of the war submitted to the Pentagon last month and made public Monday, Gen. McChrystal wrote that if the Taliban insurgency’s momentum isn’t reversed in the next 12 months, defeating it may no longer be possible. “Time matters; we must act now to reverse the negative trends and demonstrate progress,” Gen. McChrystal wrote in a “Commander’s Summary” at the start of the assessment.
The senior defense official said the reviews are scheduled to be completed within the next few weeks. “There’s a danger if you do this too quickly,” he said. “But we all feel the sense of urgency.”
[…] Geoff Morrell, a spokesman for Mr. Gates, acknowledged that the defense secretary and other top officials are “working through the process” of how Gen. McChrystal’s request will be submitted.
Gen. McChrystal’s call for quick action appears to be increasingly at odds with comments from President Barack Obama, who has insisted in recent days that he won’t be rushed into approving more U.S. troops for the war.
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