DTN News: US Civilian, Military Planners Differ On New Afghan Approach

DTN News: US Civilian, Military Planners Differ On New Afghan Approach * Officials say Obama had refused McChrystal’s request to double size of Afghan army and police * US president’s war cabinet disagrees over pledge to begin drawing down forces in July 2011 *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - December 28, 2009: Nearly a month after US President Barack Obama unveiled his revised Afghanistan strategy, US military and civilian leaders have seemingly buried their differences on several fundamental aspects of the president’s new approach, a number of senior administration and military officials told The Washington Post.

U.S. soldiers walk with Christmas gifts on Christmas day at the Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009.

In a report carried on Saturday, the paper said Obama had informed Gen Stanley McChrystal that he was not approving McChrystal’s request to double the size of Afghan army and police, just two days before announcing the revised policy.

“Cost was a factor, as were questions about whether the capacity exists to train 400,000 personnel. The president told McChrystal, the top commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, to focus for now on fielding a little more than half that number by next October,” the newspaper said.

But 10 days after Obama’s speech, the US command responsible for training the Afghans circulated a chart detailing the combined personnel targets for the army and police, with McChrystal’s goal of 400,000 staying unchanged. “It’s an open issue,” a senior Pentagon official said last week.

U.S. army soldiers from Task Force Denali Platoon 1-40 CAV secure the area during a training session of Afghanistan's national policemen outside a police station at Nadir Shah Kot district in Khowst province, Afghanistan, December 24, 2009.

Disagreement: Members of Obama’s war cabinet also disagreed over the meaning of the president’s pledge to begin drawing down forces in July 2011 and whether the mission had been narrowed down from a proposal advanced by McChrystal.

“The disagreements have opened a fault line between a desire for an early exit among several senior officials at the White House and a conviction among military commanders that victory is still achievable on their terms,” the paper said.

The differences are complicating implementation of the new strategy, with some officers responding by seeking to accelerate the pace of operations.