Kabul, November 27: Top US war commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal says American forces could still achieve the goal of defeating the Taliban after eight years of war.
Speaking to a group of key lawmakers on Thursday, McChrystal did not criticize President Barack Obama’s three-month delay to respond to his request to send about 40,000 more troops to the war-torn country.
The top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan said Obama is engaged in a thoughtful process of deciding about his request, the Washington Post reported.
“He [McChrystal] believed that the mission was accomplishable,” Rep. Tom Price said in a phone interview from Kabul after meeting the general and other top US officials.
Some of the lawmakers pressed McChrystal on Obama’s lengthy decision-making, but the general described it as a “thoughtful process and wouldn’t go any further,” Price said. “I was a little surprised he didn’t voice frustration with the delay.”
After nearly three months, President Obama will announce his decision in a national address Tuesday night from the US Military Academy.
Last spring, Obama who was against US wars during his presidential campaign, approved 21,000 extra troops for Afghanistan, bringing the number of US soldiers to an expected 68,000.
In August 2007 and July 2008, Obama, the Noble peace prize winner in 2009 talked of sending “at least two” more US combat brigades – made up of between three and four thousand troops each – to Afghanistan.
However, the 21,000 troops he has already sent far exceed any troop increase he discussed publicly before the election.
US public support for the eight-year war has dropped significantly since Obama took office, with a majority now saying that they oppose the war and that it is not worth fighting, according to opinion polls.
——Agenices