WASHINGTON — The American general in charge of the Afghan war assured lawmakers Tuesday that an additional 30,000 troops, combined with changes in the overall war strategy, would trigger a demonstrable change on the ground before U.S. forces start to come home in 18 months.
“By the summer of 2011, it will be clear to the Afghan people that the insurgency will not win, giving them the chance to side with their government,” said Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Despite such assurances, members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees used an appearance Tuesday by McChrystal — as well as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry — to press for answers on what would happen in July 2011, when the 30,000 forces President Barack Obama recently committed to sending to Afghanistan begin their gradual withdrawal.
Republicans, in particular, maintained that, by setting a firm date to begin withdrawal, the administration could send the wrong signal to the Afghan people, who are wary of throwing their support behind a teetering Afghan government and an American security force that they feared would eventually leave the country.
“What would you say to Afghans, Pakistanis and others in the region who may not feel like hedging their bets or sitting on the fence because they doubt Americans’ commitment and resolve?” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., asked.
Republicans and Democrats also probed for signs of rancor between McChrystal, who sent out urgent calls for additional troops, and Eikenberry, who expressed reservations about the timing and size of the escalation in two classified cables to Washington in early November.
Even before he was asked by lawmakers, Eikenberry sought to knock down rumors of tension in the command team in Kabul.
“I want to say from the outset that Gen. McChrystal and I are united in a joint effort where civilian and military personnel work together every day,” he said.
He also gave his full backing to the president’s decision to send in more soldiers and Marines to reverse the deteriorating security situation in the country.
Meanwhile, some Democrats, including Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., leaned on McChrystal and Eikenberry to speed the development of the Afghan army and police forces so that U.S. forces might be able to reduce their numbers even faster in areas of the country that are more stable.
Plans call for an Afghan army of about 170,000 troops by July 2011, up from the current 95,000. Military officials say that, because of poor pay and absenteeism, as few as 52,000 soldiers regularly show up for work.
In recent weeks, the military has boosted the troops’ pay so that they make as much as or more than Taliban fighters.
