Saturday, October 31, 2009

DTN News: US President Barack Obama Still Undecided On Afghan War Strategies

DTN News: US President Barack Obama Still Undecided On Afghan War Strategies *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - November 1, 2009: US President Barack Obama remains undecided over the strategies for the war in Afghanistan as the conflict is taking increasing toll both on civilians and coalition forces. President Barack Obama remains in doubt about Afghan war strategies and seeks more delibrations with his armed forces chiefs. During a private meeting at the US president's office in Washington on October 30, Obama demanded more choices in order to manage the controversial war in Afghanistan with lower military expenditures and slighter consequences for American troops, an unnamed senior Obama administration official told journalists on Friday. The US president reportedly expressed his government's "very robust commitment in Afghanistan" during the seventh joint session with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the official added. However, after reviewing the existing state of affairs for troops under US command, Obama reportedly asked for additional deliberations with his national security team and heads of the US armed forces in order to come up with a decision on America's troop level in Afghanistan which has been ravaged by eight years of alleged war against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. Despite briefings by US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines chiefs, the president still harbors doubts regarding the recommendations of top military commander, General Stanley McChrystal, who has asked for an additional 40,000 troops in the war-torn country which has been suffering the dire consequences of Washington's 'war on terror' doctrine. Afghan civilians have been the main victims of the long-fought war and the government of the President Hamid Karzai has been at loggerheads with Washington over the increasing number of people killed in indiscriminate attacks by the US-led coalition forces in his country. McChrystal had earlier ruffled feathers in the US chain of command with his bleak predictions that his country's efforts against the guerrillas would end in failure unless his calls for additional troops are met. The US, along with its allies, invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to arrest or kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 events. Washington, the first military power in the world, says efforts to arrest or kill the leader of a the terrorist group and eradicate the militancy has been of no avail. The United States currently has around 68,000 boots-on-the-ground in Afghanistan, aided by an estimated 50,000 other soldiers from 28 NATO member-countries and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The United States military has also come under mounting pressure over the number of US troopers killed in action and thousands more wounded. The US Department of Defense has also been criticized for the rising number of suicides and cases of war trauma among US troops due to lengthy stays in the danger zones.

No comments: