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US military chief backs more troops for Afghan war
AFP - Wednesday, September 16
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - The top US military officer warned on Tuesday that more US troops will probably have to go to Afghanistan to quash Taliban fighters and called for NATO to send more trainers to shape Afghan forces.
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"We can get there. We can accomplish the mission we've been assigned. But we will need resources matched to the strategy," Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Mullen said he expected General Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO military commander in Afghanistan, to submit a formal request "in the very near future" for more troops after submitting a strategic review weeks ago.
Mullen, renominated for a second two-year term by President Barack Obama, said he did not know what exactly McChrystal would ask for and that Pentagon chiefs expected a range of options.
But "a properly resourced counterinsurgency probably means more forces and, without question, more time and more commitment to the protection of the Afghan people and to the development of good governance," said Mullen.
The admiral said he backed calls for increasing training of Afghan security forces but emphasized that this would not be enough to win the conflict and that such an effort required as many as 2,000-4,000 more trainers on top of the roughly 6,000-6,500 now on the ground.
Asked how many should come from Washington's NATO allies, Mullen replied: "As many as possible."
His testimony to the panel came after a new public opinion poll provided fresh evidence that the US public is increasingly turning away from the unpopular eight-year-old conflict.
Support for the war slipped from 42 percent in late August to 39 percent, while opposition edged upwards from 57 percent to 58 percent, according to the survey by CNN television and Opinion Research Corporation.
The survey, which had an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points, came as Obama took heavy fire from Democratic allies over his likely push for pouring additional US forces into Afghanistan's front lines and from Republicans over what they charge is the sluggish pace of new deployments.
Senator John McCain, the committee's top Republican, said he was frustrated by a White House announcement Friday that any new troop request will not come for "weeks and weeks" while military officials say the clock is ticking.
"That is really, really bothersome," said the Arizona lawmaker.
McCain also said he disagreed with calls for the panel's chairman, Democratic Senator Carl Levin, to accelerate the pace and scope of training of Afghan forces before sending more US troops.
Mullen said training was critical to US success but ultimately insufficient to achieving Obama's goals, announced in a strategic overhaul in March, of quashing the Taliban Islamist militia in Afghanistan.
Amid allegations of vote-rigging in Afghanistan's recent presidential elections, Mullen also warned that the viewed the "lack of governance" posed an "equal" threat to the menace of the Taliban.
"The legitimacy of the Afghan government at every level... is a real concern," he told lawmakers. "The people don't get services from their government."
Levin, recently returned from Afghanistan, renewed his call for redoubling efforts to train, equip and deploy Afghan soldiers before any further expansion of the US troop presence, which is set to reach 68,000 by year's end.
"We need a surge in the numbers and strength of the Afghan security forces," he said. "In the meantime, we should also press our NATO allies much harder to provide more trainers."
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