Washington, September 04: Top US military chiefs sought Thursday to convince a war-weary public that President Barack Obama’s new strategy will work in Afghanistan, saying troops must stay there to defeat Al-Qaeda.
“There is a limited time for us to show that this is working,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at a Pentagon press conference held after new polls showed American support for the war had waned.
“We are mindful of that, we understand the concerns of many Americans in that area, but we think that we now have the resources and the right approach to start making some headway,” said Gates.
He was joined by Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said the fight against Al-Qaeda could not be won if US troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan now, as some commentators have advocated.
“There’s no way to defeat Al-Qaeda, which is the mission, with just that approach, you can’t do it remotely, you can’t do it offshore,” Mullen said. “I certainly don’t think it’s time to leave.”
Their comments came two days after General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, submitted a review of America’s strategy in Afghanistan that is widely expected to include a request for more troops.
Gates and Mullen declined to detail the report’s findings, which have been forwarded to Obama and are being evaluated by senior members of the military.
“What’s more important than the number of troops he (McChrystal) may or may not ask for is how he intends to use them. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he intends to use those forces under his command to protect the Afghan people,” Mullen said.
“In my view, the numbers that count most are the numbers of Afghans we protect.”
But the focus on potential troop deployments is a reflection of declining US public support for the war in Afghanistan.
A CNN poll released Tuesday showed 57 percent of Americans now oppose the war, and 40 percent believe it is not winnable.
The figures come despite the best efforts of the administration to sell the strategy Obama unveiled earlier this year.
In his first months in office, the president pledged to refocus US attention and resources on Afghanistan, and said America’s goal in the country would be to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda.”
He also ordered the deployment of 4,000 more US troops to help build up the Afghan army, in addition to 17,000 extra troops that had already been promised and an influx of civilian experts to help with development.
Gates emphasized Thursday that those resources were still being deployed in Afghanistan.
“Our new commander appeared on the scene in June. We still do not have all of the forces the president has authorized in Afghanistan yet.
“So we are only now beginning to be in a position to have the assets in place and the strategy or the military approach in place to begin to implement the strategy,” he said.
Mullen also called for patience in evaluating the effects of Obama’s plan.
“We’ve got new leadership, new strategy, resources moving in and this approach has got great potential, but its going to take some time to start to turn things.”
Foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan endured their deadliest month since the 2001 invasion in August when 77 soldiers died.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of top US ally Britain is also under pressure on Afghanistan since record numbers of British troops were killed in July and August.
Brown was to utter a strong defense Friday of the British campaign in Afghanistan but suffered a blow on the eve of the speech when a key aide quit, hammering the government over its Afghan policy.
“Each time I ask myself if we are doing the right thing by being in Afghanistan and if we can justify sending our young men and women to fight for this cause, my answer has always been yes. For when the security of our country is at stake we cannot walk away,” Brown will say later Friday in a keynote speech, excerpts of which have been released.
–Agencies