The 8-year-old war in
Officials gave no indication in public as to whether US Army General
The review is expected to spell out a completely revised approach to conducting the war, which Barack Obama considers the main foreign policy priority of his young
“The situation in
McChrystal has been working on the review since Obama put him in charge of the war in June. He sent the classified document to the
Military officials say it contains no firm targets for troop strength, but it could form the basis for a decision within weeks on future deployments — a politically fraught calculation that could mark a turning point in Obama’s presidency.
The report comes at a time when
Incomplete results so far show President Hamid Karzai leading, but not by enough to avoid a second-round run-off against his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who accuses the authorities of widespread fraud.
Returns have yet to be tallied from many areas, including much of the south, where Karzai commands strong support among his fellow Pashtuns but turnout was hurt by Taliban threats of violence and accusations of fraud are most widespread.
An independent fraud watchdog, the Election Complaints Commission, is investigating nearly 2,500 allegations of abuse, including 567 it says are serious enough to affect the outcome.
Western officials initially hailed the election as a success because Taliban fighters failed to scupper it, but as fraud charges mount those assessments have become more cautious.
In a particularly moving account of election day violence, Lal Mohammad, a 40 year-old farmer, told reporters in a hospital in
The 103 000 troops under McChrystal’s command in Afghanistan, include 63 000 Americans, more than half of whom arrived this year as part of an escalation strategy begun under outgoing President George W. Bush and ramped up under Obama. The force is set to rise to 110 000 including 68 000 Americans by year’s end.
Since taking command, McChrystal has adjusted the focus of Western forces from hunting down insurgents to trying to protect the Afghan population, borrowing in part from
His review is expected to suggest concentrating forces in more heavily populated areas, and also stepping up efforts to train Afghan soldiers and police.
Speculation has swirled about whether McChrystal will conclude he needs still more troops, or whether
The additional
Two
Pic: British troops in Helmand, July.