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US general warns more troops or Afghan 'failure'
AFP: US general warns more troops or Afghan 'failure'
BBC NEWS | South Asia | US in Afghanistan failure warning
We have vital interests in that region which risk being lost should we lose or pull out of Afghanistan.
Topic A: Is the War in Afghanistan Worth Fighting? - washingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON — The top military commander in Afghanistan warns in a classified document that more US forces are needed within the next year or the mission "will likely result in failure," the Washington Post said Monday.
AFP: US general warns more troops or Afghan 'failure'
The general's report carries a direct call for extra troops
The US mission in Afghanistan will "likely result in failure" unless troops are increased within a year, the top general there has said in a report.
Gen Stanley McChrystal made his assessment in a copy of a confidential report obtained by the Washington Post.
He recently called for a revised military strategy in Afghanistan, suggesting the current one is failing.
More than 30,000 extra US troops have been sent to Afghanistan since May - almost doubling the US contingent.
The number of US troops in Afghanistan is already set to rise to 68,000 by the end of the year.
But in his latest assessment, Gen McChrystal is quoted by the Washington Post newspaper as saying: "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term [next 12 months] - while Afghan security capacity matures - risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible."
He warned that "inadequate resources will likely result in failure".
Gen McChrystal said that failure to provide adequate resources "also risks a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs, and ultimately, a critical loss of political support".
"Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure."
BBC NEWS | South Asia | US in Afghanistan failure warning
We have vital interests in that region which risk being lost should we lose or pull out of Afghanistan.
America has vital national security interests in Afghanistan that make fighting there necessary.
The key objectives of the campaign are preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a sanctuary for terrorists with global reach and ensuring that it does not become the catalyst for a broader regional security meltdown.
Afghanistan also serves as a base from which the United States attacks al-Qaeda forces inside Pakistan and thus assists in the broader campaign against that terrorist organization -- one that we clearly must win.
JOHN NAGL
President of the Center for a New American Security
Topic A: Is the War in Afghanistan Worth Fighting? - washingtonpost.com