WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- US Defense Department confirmed on Wednesday that US Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal will send his troop request to the White House by the end of this week.
"I am confident that there is a commitment on everyone's part to work this complex issue as quickly as possible, but without rushing it. It is far more important that we make sure that the strategy we are pursuing is the correct one and the president and his team are comfortable with it," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell in a press briefing.
"That, in the long run, is what is going to lead to success in Afghanistan and the safe return of our forces," he added.
Defense Secretary Gates received an assessment report from McChrystal on August 31 before forwarding it to the White House the week after where President Barack Obama and his national security team are still reviewing the overall strategy before approving any surge of US troops in Afghanistan.
"It is simply premature to consider additional resources until General McChrystal's assessment has been fully reviewed and discussed by the president and his team", noted Morrell while noting that the White House will tackle the Afghan strategy after the national security team returns from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Morrelll downplayed media reports about concerns over US strategy in Afghanistan and speculations that the White House is trying to delay any troops request by McChrystal.
Obama announced his Afghanistan Pakistan strategy on March 27 with a stated objective "to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and McChrystal's report was a follow-up on how many troops are needed for this counterinsurgency strategy to work.
Morrell said that the Afghan presidential elections last month were "clearly a triumph against some real security obstacles, but have led to a real question about the legitimacy at least of some of the ballots." (end) jm.bs KUNA 232128 Sep 09NNNN