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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: As Afghans vote, US raises the stakes in war AFP - Sunday, August 16 WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Afghanistan's elections come at a pivotal moment for the US-led war effort as Washington pours troops and money into an increasingly ambitious mission with no end in sight. ADVERTISEMENT The vote serves in part as a test of US strategy as thousands of troops have moved into the country's volatile south to try to bolster security in the face of rising violence from Taliban insurgents. A brazen car bombing outside NATO military headquarters in Kabul on Saturday underscored the challenge confronting the Americans, who make up nearly two-thirds of the 100,000-strong coalition force. Whatever the outcome of the polls, President Barack Obama faces a difficult crossroads amid mounting casualties, growing anxiety within his own party about the war and speculation the top commander in Afghanistan will ask for yet more forces. "The president is making a practical commitment to Afghanistan that is far greater than that of his predecessor -- more troops, more civilians, and more money," said a report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "As the American footprint grows, so do the costs," it said. US troop levels are set to reach 68,000 in coming months, more than double the number in place at the start of the year, and analysts predict the head of American and NATO forces, General Stanley McChrystal, will soon issue a request for more troops. The administration meanwhile is scrambling to find more civilian experts to fix the country's corruption-plagued police and courts while weaning farmers off of the lucrative poppy crop. With the US mission costing an estimated four billion dollars a month, the war in October will enter its ninth year. And despite the growing international presence, the insurgency's reach has steadily spread. Some Democrats in Congress and commentators on the left are warning of "mission creep," arguing that Obama is taking on a costly, bloody counter-insurgency campaign without a reasonable chance of success. "More and more people are questioning the underlying assumptions of the whole thing," Michael Cohen, a fellow at the New America Foundation, told the Washington Independent website. In unveiling his strategy earlier this year, Obama declared the US goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. But to meet this narrowly defined goal, Obama is backing an elaborate village-by-village fight while building up the Afghan state from the ashes of 30 years of war. Critics argue major terror figures have fled to Pakistan and that the administration's approach is contradictory, as it talks of targeting Al-Qaeda but requires the United States and its allies to plunge ever deeper into Afghan affairs. "The administration has raised the stakes by transforming the Afghan war from a limited intervention into a more ambitious and potentially risky counter-insurgency," the senate committee report said. Casualties hit a record high for both US and coalition troops in July and commanders are bracing for more as the NATO-led force struggles to shift the momentum against the insurgents. While the US blueprint tries to draw on the lessons of Iraq, analysts warn it could falter because of the Afghan government's dubious reputation and NATO's limited grasp of the country's tribes and culture. The Kabul authorities are merely a collection of "competing fiefdoms" and the police are widely distrusted, said David Kilcullen, a former adviser to the US military who helped shape counter-insurgency tactics in Iraq. "Extending the reach of a corrupt Afghan government, or teaching bad cops to shoot straight, is not going to make things better -- it's going to make things worse," Kilcullen, a retired Australian army officer, recently told an audience in Washington. US officials have appealed for patience, saying the Afghan war was neglected for years under ex-president George W. Bush and that only recently has the effort been given the necessary resources and priority. But pressure is mounting to show results, with a recent opinion poll showing American public support for the war is starting to slide. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his top commanders have repeatedly said there must be signs of genuine progress within a year to 18 months. "After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway," Gates said in an interview last month. "The troops are tired. The American people are pretty tired." Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Sign in to recommend this article » 0 users recommend Related Articles: Asia Pacific Insurgents target NATO HQ in Kabul as vote loomsAP - Sunday, August 16 Philippine leader calls for 'annihilation' of extremistsAFP - Sunday, August 16 Hundreds of workers protest at Chinese steel plant: reportAFP - Sunday, August 16 China beat Lebanon to book Iran basketball finalAFP - Sunday, August 16 Mourners survey typhoon wreckage of Taiwan villageAP - Sunday, August 16 Enlarge Photo As Afghans vote, US raises the stakes in war Most Popular – Asia Pacific Viewed Don't brush with baldness: put down that comb Millions of salmon fail to turn up in Canada Hundreds mourn Kennedy sister at funeral Rare flowering of Chinese tree in Belgium US study uncovers powerful anti-cancer compound View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! 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