Obama Afghanistan troop surge decision may come soon

The Obama adminstration denied a report that the US already told Britain that it will send around 40,000 more troops. But it also says it's in the decision-making process.

By Ben Hancock

posted October 15, 2009 at 8:22 am EST

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Speculation is growing that President Barack Obama has neared a decision on whether to significantly boost troop levels in Afghanistan. But he will probably be influenced by top-level officials considering more moderate measures as he debates the weighty decision presented by his top commander there last month: to send 40,000 additional soldiers or risk losing the war.

The administration denied reports by BBC Newsnight that Obama has already told Britain it will send about that many troops, according to the BBC itself.

The programme said it understood an announcement could come next week, in time for a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Bratislava.

On the programme, Said Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to Washington, was asked if he could confirm that the United States would be sending more troops.

[He responded:] "We should wait for the official announcement by the US government but all indications are that President Obama is honouring the request by Gen McChrystal".

While saying it was safe to assume "that the BBC will not be the first outlet for such a decision," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs did tell Fox News that the administration is in the "decision-making phase now."

The BBC report followed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement Wednesday that his country will probably send 500 more troops to Afghanistan. The move puzzled European neighbors, who have largely ignored Obama's requests for more NATO involvement in the Afghan war, reported The Christian Science Monitor. It may suggest that Mr. Brown trusts that the US will indeed send more forces.

But just how many troops still appears to be a subject of debate among top administration officials. The New York Times expects that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will sing the same tune in weighing in on Obama's decision. The Times said the two confabbed on Afghanistan policy options over a long private dinner that followed their recent appearance at The George Washington University in Washington.

There is also increasing talk of a "middle path" that could see a troop increase of around 20,000, reported the Los Angeles Times. The debate sounds similar to the one that took place in the run-up to the Iraq War surge, although no one appears to be advocating a troop reduction this time around.

Measures under consideration include closer cooperation with local tribal chiefs and regional warlords, using CIA agents as intermediaries and cash payments as incentives, said current and former officials who described the strategies on condition of anonymity.

Other steps would concentrate U.S. and allied troops in cities, pulling out of Afghanistan's widely dispersed rural areas. At the same time, the allied forces would push ahead with plans to intensify training of Afghan troops, officials said.

Whatever the decision, Atlantic columnist Robert D. Kaplan says that the White House's public "second-guessing" of its Afghan strategy suggests poor policy coordination.

"The position Obama's now in is similar to that of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld some years back—appearing not to be listening to his generals," Kaplan writes. "If the president doesn't agree with his field commander, that's fine. Just don't make a public spectacle of it."