White House: Obama eyeing host of Afghan choices

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091110/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_afghanistan

White House: Obama eyeing host of Afghan choices

By ANNE GEARAN and STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan And

R. Hurst, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 36 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is considering four options for realigning

U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Tuesday, while military

officials said the choices involve several ways the president could employ

additional U.S. forces next year.

White House press secretary Gibbs said Obama will discuss the four

scenarios with his national security team on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters

aboard Air Force One en route to Fort Hood, Texas, Gibbs would not offer details

about those options. He insisted that Obama has not made a decision about troop

deployments.

Gibbs said that anybody who says Obama has made a decision " doesn't have in all

honesty the slightest idea what they're talking about. The president's yet to

make a decision " about troop levels or other aspects of the revised U.S.

strategy in Afghanistan.

Obama was to speak later Tuesday at a memorial service for those killed in a

shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Wednesday's meeting will include representatives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

who would be critical in procuring any new forces Obama may approve. Military

officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision is pending,

said the military services are developing presentations to explain how various

force levels could be used in Afghanistan and how various deployment schedules

could work, given recent promises to give soldiers more rest time at home.

Military officials have said Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of

thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though probably not quite the 40,000

sought by his top general there.

Gibbs said Tuesday that a decision still is weeks away. He had earlier said no

announcement is expected until late this month, when the president returns from

an extended diplomatic trip to Asia.

Administration officials told The Associated Press on Monday the expected

deployment would probably begin in January with a mission to stiffen the defense

of 10 key cities and towns.

An Army brigade that had been training for deployment to Iraq that month may be

at or near the vanguard. The brigade, based at Fort Drum in upstate New York,

has been told it will not go to Iraq as planned but has been given no new

mission yet.

Military officials said Obama will have choices that include a phased addition

of up to 40,000 forces over some six months or more next year, based on security

conditions and the decisions of NATO allies.

Several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has

not been made also said Obama's announcement will be much broader than the

mathematics of troop numbers, which have dominated the U.S. debate.

It soon will be three months since Afghan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal

reported to Obama that the U.S. mission was headed for failure without the

addition of about 40,000 troops.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because final plans have not

been disclosed, dubbed the likely troop increase as " McChrystal Light " because

it would fall short of his request. They also said additional small infusions of

troops could be dispatched next spring and summer.

The more gradual buildup, the officials said, would allow time to construct

needed housing and add equipment needed for transporting the expanded force.

Besides being sent to cities and towns, the new forces would be stationed to

protect important roads and other key infrastructure.

As he makes his decision, Obama told ABC News that he wanted to make sure " that

if we are sending additional troops that the prospects of a functioning Afghan

government are enhanced, that the prospects of al-Qaida being able to attack the

U.S. homeland are reduced. "