Associated Press
WASHINGTON — As the White House began Tuesday to debate in earnest the increasingly unpopular Afghanistan war, NATO’s secretary-general said President Barack Obama is right to delay troop decisions until a possibly revamped approach is devised.
“The first thing is not numbers,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told reporters as he and Obama wrapped up their Oval Office meeting.
Still, Fogh Rasmussen said U.S. and allied troops will remain in Afghanistan “as long as it takes.”
The two leaders did not take questions.
Amid dwindling public support for the 8-year-old war, Obama is deciding whether to shift course in Afghanistan. He is torn between ramping up military strength there to try to prevent the Taliban and other extremists from again making the nation a haven for terrorists or turning to a new strategy of focusing mostly on rooting out al-Qaida elements growing stronger in neighboring Pakistan. The latter option would involve mostly unmanned spy planes and special forces units.
Among the recent developments that have scrambled the administration’s thinking are the Aug. 20 elections in Afghanistan, marred by claims of ballot stuffing and voter coercion.
Obama is not expected to make the call for some time. But this week marks the launch of his engagement on the topic.
The president meets today at the White House with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, national security adviser Jim Jones, Obama’s special envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke, and others. Those high-level players are meeting without Obama on Tuesday to prepare for today’s discussion.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and his boss, U.S. Central Commander Gen. David Petraeus, also were taking part in both meetings, either by secure videoconference or in person. Today will be Obama’s first discussion with his Afghanistan commander since June.
Associated Press writer Lara Jakes contributed to this report.
