Obama holds new war talks

2009-10-15 10:52

Washington - US President Barack Obama huddled with his war council for a fifth time on Wednesday, debating whether to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan to quell a growing conflict.

Obama is to unveil a new strategy within weeks to contain an insurgency fuelled by al-Qaeda militants and the Taliban, which is resurgent eight years after being ousted from power.

During Wednesday's three-hour meeting Obama was briefed by key aides on efforts to strengthen the civilian mission in Afghanistan and train Afghan security forces, with the vexed question of resources permeating the debate, the White House said.

The discussion brought Obama together with Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via video conference from Russia.

It came after a grim assessment of the war by General Stanley McChrystal, the top Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, who has reportedly asked for up to 40 000 more troops to fight the insurgency.

McChrystal was also present for the discussion, along with other top military and intelligence officials.

Obama has said the top goal of any new policy would be consistent with current US aims - rooting out al-Qaeda and its "extremist allies".

"We are going through a very deliberative process," Obama said on Tuesday after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Deliberative process

"I won't provide you a preview of what I am seeing or hearing," he added, saying only: "I would expect that we will have a completion of this current process in the coming weeks."

Clinton, in an interview on Wednesday with the BBC, rejected suggestions that the lack of an announcement on US troop plans for Afghanistan signalled indecisiveness.

"I think, in fact, it is a demonstration of a mature, deliberative process, which may not exactly fit the news cycle but which I think does reflect the thoughtful approach that we're trying to assume," she said.

Clinton also said the administration was closer to making a decision about the strategy, but that it "wouldn't be appropriate" to discuss a timeline.

Britain on Wednesday addressed some concerns about resources, announcing it would send an extra 500 soldiers to Afghanistan.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown also urged Nato allies to do their "fair share" in the increasingly deadly and unpopular war.

Meanwhile, the pace of the closed-door talks has stepped up in Washington, with Obama due to meet again with his national security advisers next week.

The Nato-led mission to Afghanistan included around 34 000 US personnel when Obama took office in January. The force is expected to rise to 68 000 by the end of the year.

Reservations

But public opinion is souring towards the war in the United States, Britain and Canada - also a major troop contributor.

The debate has been further clouded by recent Afghan elections marred by allegations of widespread fraud.

White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs on Wednesday said it would "work with whatever government there is", but added that having a "strong credible partner is extremely important".

Although Obama has remained tight-lipped, the White House has made it clear that a total withdrawal from Afghanistan is not an option.

It appears to distinguish between al-Qaeda and the lesser threat they say is posed to US security by the Taliban, fuelling suspicion Obama is leaning away from sending tens of thousands more troops.

That is an approach favoured by Biden, while Clinton and Gates are reported to have a wider vision of the conflict including its civilian and diplomatic consequences.

Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, one of Obama's top allies in Congress, on Wednesday said he was not ready to support sending more troops, citing "reservations" about the government in Kabul.

On the Republican side, Senator John McCain has warned a failure to dispatch more US troops to Afghanistan would be "an error of historic proportions".

More than 100 000 foreign soldiers under Nato and US command are in Afghanistan as the war goes into its ninth year, with casualties so far in 2009 at 409, according to icasualties.org.

- AFP