Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
McChrystal tells Afghans U.S. not leaving yet
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Video
Save
Email
Print
Reprints
Most Popular
Most Shared
Chicago river poisoned to block feared Asian carp
03 Dec 2009
Somali rebels deny they carried out suicide bombing
| Video
1:51am EST
White House accepts some blame in gatecrasher saga
02 Dec 2009
BofA sells $19.3 billion of securities for TARP repay
03 Dec 2009
UPDATE 5-Comcast lands NBC in deal that reshapes media
03 Dec 2009
Chicago river poisoned to block feared Asian carp
03 Dec 2009
Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair
01 Dec 2009
Geeks trump alpha males as algos dominate Wall St
02 Dec 2009
Europe Factors-Shares set to dip ahead of U.S. payrolls
1:17am EST
Who's afraid of high-frequency trading?
02 Dec 2009
McChrystal tells Afghans U.S. not leaving yet
Peter Graff
KABUL
Thu Dec 3, 2009 9:00pm EST
Factbox
Quotes from U.S. lawmakers on Obama's Afghan policy
Thu, Dec 3 2009
Related Video
McChrystal hails war strategy
Thu, Dec 3 2009
Obama's Afghan bet
KABUL (Reuters) - The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan reassured top officials on Thursday that Washington was not planning an early exit, part of a charm offensive to sell President Barack Obama's new strategy on three continents.
World
Obama announced on Tuesday that he is sending 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, but also said they would begin to come home by mid-2011.
The new strategy has raised worries at home and in Afghanistan, both among those who oppose sending more troops and those who oppose setting a date for them to start leaving.
Since his speech, the president's national security team has been mobilized to defend the new strategy to a skeptical U.S. Congress, his commander in Kabul has been explaining it to wary Afghans, and diplomats have pressed for help from NATO allies.
The top U.S. commander, General Stanley McChrystal, met 12 Afghan cabinet ministers and deputy ministers before appearing before lawmakers in the Afghan parliament.
The focus of Obama's new strategy was "to provide an opportunity for the Afghan people to build enough capacity to provide security themselves," he told parliamentarians.
Within 18 months some of the extra troops would no longer be needed, he said. "I believe that by summer of 2011 it will be clear that the government of Afghanistan is winning."
Parliamentarians said Obama's speech had raised fears Afghanistan would be abandoned, but they were reassured by hearing from McChrystal that the U.S. commitment was long-term.
"Mr. Obama's speech indicated that by July 2011 the troop withdrawal would begin, and to some circles in Afghanistan and some parts of the world, of course it's interpreted that the United States and the international community would start leaving Afghanistan," said parliament member Daud Sultanzoi.
"The general explained that ... once the Afghan military has increased, then that additional increase will taper off and the gradual withdrawal of those troops will begin."
McChrystal and U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry were due later to fly to Brussels, headquarters of NATO, where allies are under pressure to add to Obama's pledge of more troops.
Obama's commitment means there will be nearly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- two thirds of whom will have arrived since he took office -- along with about 40,000 from allies.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday he expected allies to provide at least 5,000 troops, although privately U.S. officials say that target is ambitious.
Italy's defense minister said in an interview published on Thursday that the country would send 1,000 more troops and Britain announced last week it was sending 500. However, Canada and the Netherlands have already announced plans to withdraw about 5,000 troops between them in the next two years.
MENTORING
The new U.S. troops will give Western forces extra combat firepower at a time when they are facing an insurgency that has never been stronger, but McChrystal has said that the "main effort" will be on training Afghans.
He wants to see the Afghan army and police forces more than double to 400,000 total, a goal which he says will take at least four years to achieve.
In a major shift in strategy, most of the new U.S. troops will be fielded alongside Afghan units, a tactic NATO so far has implemented only partially because the Afghan forces are too small and some units are reluctant to deploy in combat areas.
Commanders who met McChrystal on a visit to Kandahar in the south of the country said Afghan troops were what they need most.
Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, the commander of 10,000 U.S. Marines in Helmand province, told Reuters he had just 2,000 Afghan troops and needed far more.
"I get asked all the time, 'How many Afghans do you want?' I want one to one. Every time one of our squads is going out, I want an Afghan squad with it," he said.
Some of the new troops will be classroom trainers, but most of them will be deployed with the Afghan units they are assigned to mentor, teaching while in the thick of combat.
"The biggest hurdle is trying to develop them while they're in a fight everyday. The way our army trains back in the States, no one's shooting at us so we can focus on training and developing our units," said Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Jenior of the 82nd Airborne Division.
"Here we've got to try do that while they're being shot at by the Taliban everyday."
(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Kandahar; Editing by Jeremy Laurence.)
World
More from Reuters
Obama vows to tackle jobs challenge head-on
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged corporate America on Thursday to help tackle the nation's highest unemployment in 26 years but also hinted at federal tax credits and aid to states to ease jobless woes.
Goldman likely to pay annual bonus in stock: report
U.S. companies celebrating holiday on the cheap
Prosecutors investigated Rajaratnam a decade ago: report
China hints sticking to dollar despite worries
Bernanke defends record in bid for second term
| Video
» More Top News
BreakingViews:
Give this man more money
It may be tempting to keep Lloyd Blankfein's paycheck in the single-digit millions to avoid an uproar, write columnists Antony Currie and Rob Cox. But that would be a mistake. Commentary | Quote
DealZone: Where's Lloyd?
Executive Compensation
Our new home
We’ve rebuilt Reuters.com to make the site faster and easier to use, whether you want a quick glance at the top headlines or a longer deep dive into a topic that’s important to you. Full Article
Video Tour
© Copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Analyst Research
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Labs
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts.com
Buyouts Europe:
Buyouts Conferences:
Venture Capital Journal
ECVJ
International Financing Review
International Securitisation Report
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Friday, 4 December 2009 Suicide bomber kills five in attack on Iraq police
Netherlands reports mutant swine flu death
Sony to enter car battery market: Stringer
ECB unveils end of extraordinary monetary measures
US commander eyes success in Afghan surge
Polanski transferred from jail: official
Iran to review ties with countries over IAEA vote
Austria's Raiffeisen to launch online banking in E. Europe
Putin will 'think about' 2012 presidential run
NATO and Russia resolve dispute, will hold talks
| International
|
Surprise fall in new claims for US jobless benefits
Newspapers push to reclaim their online identities
Comcast taking majority stake in NBC Universal
Google being made newspaper scapegoat: CEO
Red Cross scales down Darfur work after abductions
NASA climate expert hopes Copenhagen summit fails
NATO allies back US Afghan plan, see 2010 as pivotal
US-TECH Summary
Nokia says halving smartphone portfolio
Google CEO says not to blame for news media woes
Sony to enter car battery market: Stringer
Nokia says halving smartphone portfolio
Nokia says halving smartphone offering
| Technology
|
MySpace hopes high as launches music site in UK
| Technology
|
Bhopal anger on 25th anniversary of killer gas leak
Secret Service puts 3 on leave over gate crashing
One dead, five hurt in S.Korea weapons test: ministry
Texas man with low IQ asks court to spare his life
Vietnam says president to make rare Vatican trip
Gates: 3,000 extra troops could go to Afghanistan
APNewsBreak: Exec enters plea in NY pension probe
Nobel-winning economist to address Myanmar forum
Pelosi: Bailout money to fund jobs initiative
Miss. man gets probation for Facebook threats
China sentences 5 more to death for Xinjiang riots
US military commander sells strategy to Afghans
FBI adds 4 hijackers to wanted terrorists list
Uzbeks rebut critics of pullout from power grid
Indonesian journalists plan to screen banned film
WWII vet fights homeowners group over Va. flagpole
Congress worries about Obama's plan for Pakistan
S.Korea rail union ends damaging strike
GM to cede venture control to China's SAIC: report
Pakistan's forex reserves ease to $13.72 bln
Norway's Telenor launches Indian mobile service
Nissan recalls 326,161 vehicles
Japan's DoCoMo takes major share of German unit
Oliver Stone: Greed is legal in 'Wall Street 2'
Pakistani stocks, rupee end flat; security a worry
Up in the Air wins first, key award in Oscar race
| Entertainment
|
Tobey Maguire matures, goes to war for Brothers
| Entertainment
|
Twitter / Over capacity
Roman Polanski moved, for privacy, ahead of prison release
| Entertainment
|
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Polanski moved from prison: Swiss Justice Min
Rudolph the Reindeer outshines TV competition
| Entertainment
|
Malaysia's Legoland theme park to open in 2012
Singer Traore creates foundation for young artists in Mali
Country Music Association chief Tammy Genovese resigns
| Entertainment
|
Japan transsexual queen wants her country more tolerant
Swiss move Polanski to undisclosed location
Ronnie Wood arrested on suspicion of assault
Singer Hucknall sees red over Irish hunting rights
Jim Sheridan's 'Brothers' explores the scars of war
Susan Boyle album tops US charts
U.S., Germany losing patience with Iran
Nigerians jailed in Dutch 'voodoo curse' trial
Guinea on alert after attack on junta chief
|
Google adds translation to main search engine
White House accused of 'stonewalling' gatecrash probe
Russia, Vatican establish diplomatic relations
Comcast's consummate dealmaker scores media prize
Somali rebels deny they carried out suicide bombing
|
McChrystal tells Afghans U.S. not leaving yet
|
Bernanke admits mistakes, urges Fed independence
Netherlands says UN prosecutor's report on Serbia 'positive'
Comcast poised to join ranks of entertainment giants
Cisco to go ahead with Tandberg deal
Ammo crates unearthed at Philippine massacre suspect's home
|
NATO, Russia agree new plan for cooperation: diplomats
U.S., Germany losing patience with Iran
|
GM sees the driving future: it's a video game
Zelaya in limbo, says democracy dead in Honduras
|
Canada's high court orders new trial in online luring case
Obama: No 'wait and see' approach on jobs
Mexico City police free dozens of slave workers
|
Yahoo sees exponential growth in mobile ads
PM Gilani does not think bin Laden in Pakistan
|
Berlusconi goes back on trial for corruption
|
Google sees growth in online video ads
Chavez seeks to reassure on Venezuelan banks
|
YouTube makes videos "Feather" light
Pioneering solar-powered plane makes airborne hop
Nokia says halving smartphone offering
Comcast lands NBC in deal that reshapes media
|
Ammo crates unearthed at Philippine massacre suspect's home
Teen Internet addicts more likely to self harm: study
|
Nepalese cabinet holds Everest meeting
Taiwan's opposition seeks comeback in weekend poll
GM sees the driving future: it's a video game
|
China sentences 5 more to death for Xinjiang riots
Friendster to be sold by month's end: source
|
Yahoo sees exponential growth in mobile ads
|
Excerpts of interview with Afghan President Karzai
University turns iPhones into musical instruments
|
Google CEO says not to blame for news media woes
|
China, Canada sign environmental deal
Bernanke Set For Second Term As Senators Weigh Pros And Cons
Nokia says halving smartphone offering
|
Border agents seize $1.6M in counterfeit toys
Oprah visits White House for Christmas special
Google sees growth in online video ads
|
Single Asian carp found in Chicago-area fish kill
U.S. Study: Number Of Menthol Cigarette Smokers Increases
Cannon Reiterates Canada Will Leave Afghanistan In 2011 Despite New U.S. Troops Arrival
EBay and Craigslist battle heads to court
|
Senator's Daughter Carjacked In Nation's Capitol
Obama delays moving US Embassy to Jerusalem
U.S. Shoe Retail Chain To Open Seven Stores In Philippines In 2010
Child Porn A Major Personal, Online Issue
Alien Hunter Resigns From School Board Job Amid Probe
Kidnapper who held victim in casket box gets life
Obama team faces tough questions on Afghan strategy
Child Left On Bus All Day Without Food Or Water
Oregon tree hunters tell of 2 nights stuck in snow
New York Senate Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Bill
South Carolina Prison Guard In Stable Condition After Stabbing By Inmates
Cruz, Kidman, Dench hit red carpet in London
All-star cast promotes premiere of musical `Nine'
Up in the Air wins first key award in Oscar race
|
Tobey Maguire matures, goes to war for Brothers
|
Jackson film rakes in over $250 million worldwide
|
Ronnie Wood arrested on suspicion of assault
|
Roman Polanski moved, for privacy, ahead of prison release
|
Beyonce leads Grammys, Taylor Swift close behind
|
ABC cancels Adam Lambert's Kimmel performance
|
S.Korea Q3 GDP revised up, boosts rate rise bets
Rudolph the Reindeer outshines TV competition
|
Country Music Association chief Tammy Genovese resigns
|
South Korea carmakers seek expanded US market
Jackson kids among most fascinating of 2009
|
China, World Bank African factory plans: Zoellick
Nissan recalls over 345,000 vehicles
Conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt turns 80
S.Korean economy grows revised 3.2 pct in Q3
Korea Hot Stocks
Levine back on podium after disk surgery
'Monk' star Shalhoub calls finale very satisfying
Comcast-NBC deal shows future is in content
Seoul shares rangebound; Daewoo Ship, LG Elec gain
S.Korea bonds plunge on upbeat Q3 GDP data
USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS
WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS
Seoul shares fall; Daewoo Ship up on order news
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS
SKorea's economy grows revised 3.2 percent
Songwriter for Elvis' 'It's Now or Never' dies
Top cable programs for Nov. 23-29
CBS radio, Last.fm to feature on music website Vevo
Official says Iran to limit cooperation with IAEA
Teen Internet addicts more likely to self harm: study
NATO allies commit 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan
|
Iran, Afghanistan to test Turkish-U.S. ties
|
US allies offer 7,000 troops for Afghan surge
Italy, Russia agree on security, energy
Iran rejects IAEA transparency demand on atom sites
|
Suicide bombers kills scores at Pakistan mosque
|
Pakistan opposes expanded U.S. drone attacks
|
Karadzic files motion to remove appointed lawyer
|
Russia says U.S. arms deal close as deadline looms
Obama to discuss jobs, economy in Pennsylvania
GM, Chinese partner join forces in India
Gunmen attack mosque in Pakistani city, 35 killed
Fort Hood unit deploys despite losing soldiers
Suicide attackers kill 26 in attack in Pakistan
Ticket for train companies is US jobs
China sentences 3 more to death for Xinjiang riots
'Bruno' pastor runs for mayor of Birmingham, Ala.
China sentences 3 more to death over ethnic riots
At least 30 dead in Pakistan mosque attack: minister
Italian jurors consider verdicts in sex murder trial
Gunmen attack mosque in Pakistani city
US envoy urges speedy resolution of base dispute
Italian jurors mull verdict for Knox in murder trial
Man charged with helping WA gunman elude capture
Myanmar's Suu Kyi appeal, EU negotiations to open
Bangladesh passenger boat capsizes; 38 dead
Few concerns as US-Russian nuclear treaty expires
US-Russia nuclear talks 'coming to a close': Moscow
GM, Chinese partner join forces in India
Tokyo bourse ordered to pay Mizuho $121M damages
GM and China's SAIC to launch India auto venture
Taiwan government to support e-book Industry
UPDATE 1-Pro-North Korea paper confirms currency move
Japan plans huge stimulus package
GM, Chinese partner announce India venture
Reports: GM to sell China partner stake in India
Philippine inflation at 6-month high in November
Korean deal ends search for new Boeing 747-8 buyer
Roman Polanski released on bail into house arrest
|
Rice to rags tale in Iraq's parched breadbasket
Amazon lumberjacks take lead in sustainable forestry
Greener landings in climate-aware Sweden
Burglary Suspect: 'I Didn't Know They Were Dead'
Senate Official: Tiger Has The Answers
Pulse Asia Survey Identifies 4 Philippine Personalities Whose Political Endorsements Are Considered 'Kiss Of Death'
Former Beatles Legend Calls For No Meat Day, Opinions Differ
Montreal U Study Finds Difficulty Locating Porn Virgins
Swedish Environmental Group Finds Philippine Shoes Toxic
Alien Hunter Resigns From School Board Job Amid Probe
Child Left On Bus All Day Without Food Or Water
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights