Officials express frustration over Afghan-war policies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Military officials voiced frustration, and congressional leaders urged caution Tuesday over what they described as President Barack Obama’s shifting strategy in Afghanistan, six months after he committed thousands more U.S. troops to the stalemated war there.
Administration officials maintained they were looking at all options to protect the U.S. and its allies by shutting down al-Qaida leaders who are believed to be hiding in areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.
Critics at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill said the White House was in danger of taking its eye off the fight that has turned increasingly deadly for American forces in recent months. They called on Obama to fulfill an anticipated request for more troops from the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
“This leads me to urge you to waste no time in providing a clear direction to our commanders and civilian leaders, along with the resources necessary to achieve their mission,” House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., wrote to Obama in a letter dated Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. Skelton is the highest-ranking Democrat so far to support sending more troops to Afghanistan.
Warning of what he called the lessons of history, Skelton added: “The last administration allowed itself to be distracted from the fight forced on us in Afghanistan by the fight it chose in Iraq. I believe that this was a strategic mistake, robbing the war in Afghanistan of the necessary resources and resulting in an approach of ‘half-*** it and hope.’ We cannot afford to continue that policy.”
He was referring to then- President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 after largely abandoning the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Military officials who thought the debate over strategy and troop levels had been settled when Obama outlined his mission for the region in March expressed concern Tuesday that seesawing politics could stall decisions and leave commanders in Afghanistan with no clear policy or strategy to follow. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the debate publicly.
At the White House, top Obama advisers insist the administration remains committed to its long-stated goal for the war in Afghanistan — disrupting al-Qaida and denying the terrorist organization safe haven on either side of the nation’s porous border with Pakistan.
But they remain unconvinced that sending many more U.S. troops to Afghanistan is the way to do it.