Gates: A change of strategy in Afghanistan?

[unhappycamper]

Gates: A change of strategy in Afghanistan?
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 19, 2008 12:23:50 EDT

LONDON — The Bush administration is considering changing its war strategy in Afghanistan in light of rising levels of violence and an increasingly complex insurgent threat, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

“You have an overall approach, an overall strategy, but you adjust it continually based on the circumstances that you find,” Gates said. “We did that in Iraq. We made a change in strategy in Iraq and we are going to continue to look at the situation in Afghanistan.”

Pressed for more details about the review of Afghan strategy, Gates would say only, “We’re looking at it.”

A senior defense official traveling with Gates said later that the U.S. administration was examining a range of strategic questions, including whether to reduce the combat role of NATO troops in Afghanistan in light of planned increases in U.S. combat troops. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it amounted to a broad review that included more than just military aspects of U.S. strategy.

Meanwhile, Gates said that when facing allegations of U.S. airstrikes killing or injuring civilians in Afghanistan, it is better to apologize first and investigate later.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_gates_091808/%2e