WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is days away from approving a new Afghanistan troop buildup, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, as the new administration confronts a worsening war and the prospect of fiercer fighting in the spring.
Obama is likely to send fresh forces to the Afghan battle even before concluding a wide review of U.S. strategy and goals there, in part because time is short to have new units in place for the expected increase in fighting that comes with warmer weather.
“The president will have several options in front of him,” Gates said at a Pentagon news conference, adding that he expects a decision “in the course of the next few days.”
Gates suggested, as have other officials, that the ground commander in Afghanistan would eventually get all the forces he has asked for, but no more. Lt. Gen. David McKiernan wants more fighting forces and support troops such as helicopter crews to push back against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s increasingly dangerous south and eastern regions.
“If the president agreed to ultimately, to satisfy the standing requests from Gen. McKiernan, I would be deeply skeptical about further troop deployments beyond that. I worry a lot about the size of the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan,” he said.
An opponent of the “surge” of U.S. forces that is now credited with turning around the Iraq war, Obama has taken a cautious approach to the addition of forces in Afghanistan. He is expected to initially approve only part of a military request for as many as 30,000 forces this year, while military and civilian advisers revamp U.S. war goals.
“This is the first time that this president has been asked to deploy large numbers of troops overseas, and it seems to me a thoughtful and deliberative approach to that decision is entirely appropriate,” Gates said.
McKiernan asked for the additional troops months ago, long before Obama became president. Although Obama had pledged to add forces in Afghanistan while shutting down the Iraq war, his new administration has sought firmer control over the pace and scope of any new deployments.
Meanwhile early today, suicide bombers attacked the Afghan Justice Ministry and another building in Kabul, causing multiple casualties. A Justice Ministry official said at least five gunmen attacked the ministry. A police officer said another bomber attacked police at another location. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
