Pentagon Delays Afghan Troop Request: Report

[Hissyspit]

Source: REuters

Pentagon delays Afghan troop request: report

By JoAnne Allen and Golnar Motevalli – 1 hr 41 mins ago
WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) – The Pentagon has told its top commander in Afghanistan not to ask for extra troops until the Obama administration completes a strategy review, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Army General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, warned in a confidential assessment leaked to the media on Monday that without additional troops the mission "will likely result in failure."

A senior Pentagon official said the administration had asked for the reprieve so it can complete a review of the U.S.-led war effort, the Journal reported.

- snip -

There are already more than 100,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan battling an insurgency that has taken control of parts of the south and east of the country in what has so far been the deadliest year for foreign troops since 2001.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090922/ts_nm/us_afghanistan

[mucifer]

1. here's another hopeful article:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's strategy against al-Qaida may shift away from more troops in Afghanistan and toward more drone strikes against terrorist targets.

As the war worsens in Afghanistan, Obama could steer away from the comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy he laid out this spring and toward a narrower focus on counterterror operations.

Two senior administration officials said Monday that the renewed fight against al-Qaida could lead to more missile attacks on Pakistan terrorist havens by unmanned U.S. spy planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.



McChrystal approach, saying in television interviews over the weekend that he needs to be convinced that sending more troops would make Americans safer from al-Qaida.

Tellingly, Obama reiterated in those interviews that his core goal is to destroy al-Qaida, which is not present in significant numbers in Afghanistan. He did not focus on saving Afghanistan.

"I'm not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan or saving face," Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday....snip
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/afghanistan-pullback-plan_n_294264.html story from the AP

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/afghanistan-pullback-plan_n_294264.html

[mike_c]

3. more unnecessary and unjust war....

I don't see that as particularly positive, frankly.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Sorta good news, then.

"Stop and think" is a good plan.