Obama Rules Out Afghanistan Troop Cuts

Barack Obama has ruled out substantially reducing troop numbers in Afghanistan, it emerged today.

But
he has still to decide whether to agree to a request from the head of
US and Nato forces, General Stanley McCrystal, to dramatically increase
the number of soldiers fighting in the eight-year-old conflict.

The
president held a meeting in Washington yesterday with 18 Republican and
Democratic congressional leaders, as he reviews the Afghan war policy.
Politicians emerging from the meeting said Obama seemed to be seeking a
middle ground and that views were divided on the way forward.
Republicans urged Obama to heed his military commander's call for more
troops.

Obama said he was not contemplating reducing troop levels in the near future under any scenario, a number of those at the meeting told the Washington Post.

Attendees
at the closed-door event described tension, with some politicians
reportedly airing concerns that accepting the general's recommendation
would be costly in terms of both money and human life.

"I think a
lot of senators and congressmen need to ask themselves how much money
they are willing to put on the table, for how long and for what
strategy," the Democratic senator John Kerry told the paper.

Congress
must approve any additional resources but much of the president's party
is resisting calls for more combat troops, forcing him to seek support
from Republicans who favour McChrystal's strategy.

Republicans
pressed Obama to order the escalation without delay, leading to a
pointed exchange between the president and John McCain, his Republican
opponent in last year's election, the New York Times reported.

McCain
said time was "not on our side" and stressed "this should not be a
leisurely process", according to several people in the room.

Obama
reportedly replied: "John, I can assure you this won't be leisurely. No
one feels more urgency to get this right than I do."

He sought to play down suspicions of friction with McChrystal. "I'm the one who hired him," Obama said, according to participants. "I put him there to give me a frank assessment."

The
president told the meeting that his decision would be based on what he
thought would be the best way to prevent future attacks on the US and
its allies, an official said.

"He also made it clear that his
decision won't make everybody in the room or the nation happy, but
underscored his commitment to work on a collaborative basis," the
official said.

At the heart of the debate within the Obama administration
is whether it would be best to send more troops to Afghanistan and work
to earn the trust of the Afghan people or to more narrowly focus the
war effort using airstrikes against al-Qaida targets.

The
Republican senator Judd Gregg said there was "no consensus" in the
meeting about what should be done in Afghanistan, and the House of
Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, spoke of the
"diversity" of opinion in the room.

Last weekend heavy fighting
in eastern Afghanistan left eight US troops dead and Nato forces said
more than 100 militants died. It was the biggest loss of US life in a
single battle since 2001 and added to growing public unease over the
war.

On Monday, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs,
said leaving the war-torn country was not an option. Asked if pulling
out was part of the assessment currently being debated in Washington,
Gibbs replied "no", adding: "That is not something that has ever been
entertained, despite the fact that people still get asked what happens
if we leave Afghanistan. That's not a decision that is on the table to
make."

But it is thought that Obama has deep reservations over
committing to a further surge in troop numbers. McChrystal is
understood to be calling for up to 45,000 additional fighters to help
defeat the Taliban.