Washington, October 08: Obama team appears to be sharply divided on what should be the right strategy on Afghanistan, with one group insisting on sending thousands of more troops while other seeking a narrower counter-terrorism mission, a leading American daily said.
The entire military leadership, including Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and General David Petraues, Commander of the US Central Command, are in sink with the General Stanley McChrystal, the US an NATO Commander in Afghanistan, that the US needs to send tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to win the decisive battle against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
On the other hand, a group led by the Vice President Joe Biden have taken just the opposite view calling for a narrower counter-terrorism mission instead of a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign, the Washington Post said.
“Others, including Defence Secretary Robert M Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have not staked out a firm position,” it said.
“With the costs now clearer, some officials at the National Security Council and the State Department who voiced support for counter-insurgency in March have started to consider other options. There is increasing interest in Biden’s stance, as well as in a modified counter-insurgency effort that would involve sending more military trainers but not more combat forces,” the newspaper added.
“The sceptics are growing,” one senior official was quoted as saying.
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