Obama tries to heal rifts over war strategy in Afghanistan

President Obama turned to leading figures in Congress yesterday for advice on his Afghanistan war strategy as concerns grew that he has allowed internal tensions over such a critical decision to spill into public view. The divisions between some of Mr Obamas civilian White House advisers and senior military personnel have become so heated in recent days that Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, was forced to appeal for calm as he admonished the top commander in Afghanistan for a speech he delivered in London last week. In that speech, General Stanley McChrystal had said that significantly more troops were needed in Afghanistan to execute the counter-insurgency strategy launched by Mr Obama in March. He dismissed the narrower, counter-terrorism approach now being advocated internally by officials such as Vice-President Joe Biden as short-sighted. Those advocating the counter-terrorism approach, which would require fewer troops than a counter-insurgency strategy, have been bolstered in their arguments by a string of successful recent operations in which senior al-Qaeda officials have been killed. Mr Obama, addressing counterterrorism officials near Washington yesterday, said that real progress had been made in disrupting alQaeda, but said that terrorists were still resourceful and still plotting. Yesterday, Mr Obama met a bipartisan group of 14 senators and 14 congressmen to hear their differing views on the issue. Mr Gatess reproach to General McChrystal, in which he said that military and civilian officials should give advice to Mr Obama privately, came a day after James Jones, the National Security Adviser, also appeared to rebuke the general for his speech. It was better for military advice to come up through the chain of command, General Jones said. The exchanges suggest an element of disarray inside the Administration as Mr Obama tries to decide whether to accept General McChrystals request for up to 40,000 extra troops in Afghanistan, in addition to the 68,000 US troops already there.
The very public process has also dismayed senior elements inside the Pentagon and has unsettled some US allies who have troops in Afghanistan, because from afar the deliberations look confused and uncertain. Mr Gates insisted that the process was a proper one, describing it as a frank discussion to help Mr Obama to make the right decision. Yet he added, in what appeared to be a reference to General McChrystals London speech: It is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations civilians and military alike provide our best advice to the President candidly but privately. I believe that the decisions that the President will make for the next stage of the Afghanistan campaign will be among the most important of his presidency. Mr Gates made one thing clear: that the US is not about to pull out. Were not leaving Afghanistan, he said. Mr Obamas War Cabinet meeting tomorrow and on Friday will include at least one video conference call with General McChrystal in Afghanistan.