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Report: General calls for more Afghanistan troops

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-21 14:21

WASHINGTON: Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said in a confidential report that without additional forces, the war against insurgents there will end in failure, The Washington Post reported Monday.

US Marine Cpl Kyle Campbell walks on a patrol in Nawa district, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. [Agencies]

McChrystal's grim assessment of the war was published on the Post's Web site, with some portions withheld at the government's request.

"Although considerable effort and sacrifice have resulted in some progress, many indicators suggest the overall effort is deteriorating," McChrystal wrote in his summary.

The report was sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates in August and is now under review by President Barack Obama, who is trying to decide whether to send more US troops to Afghanistan.

While asking for more troops, McChrystal also pointed out "the urgent need for a significant change to our strategy." The US needs to interact better with the Afghan people, McChrystal said, and better organize its efforts with NATO allies.

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The Pentagon and the White House are awaiting a separate, more detailed request for additional troops and resources. Media reports Friday and Saturday said McChrystal has finished it but was told to pocket it, partly because of the charged politics surrounding the decision. McChrystal's senior spokesman, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the report is not complete.

"The resource request is being finalized and will be sent forward to the chain of command at some point in the near future," Smith said from Afghanistan.

Obama denied asking McChrystal to sit on the request, but he gave no deadline for making a decision about whether to send more Americans into harm's way.

Obama said in a series of television interviews broadcast Sunday that he will not allow politics to govern his decision. He left little doubt he is re-evaluating whether more forces will do any good.

"The first question is, `Are we doing the right thing?'" Obama said. "Are we pursuing the right strategy?"

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