bobbyw24
10-18-2009, 12:58 PM
Emanuel: Afghanistan decision 'more complex' than 40,000 troops
By Tony Romm - 10/18/09 11:27 AM ET
http://thehill.com/images/stories/news/2009/october/weekend1017/rahmemanuelgetty.jpg
White House military and defense advisers will meet again this and next week to discuss a proposed troop increase for Afghanistan, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday.
Although the news that President Barack Obama is still calibrating his Afghanistan strategy is hardly unexpected, it is still likely to frustrate congressional lawmakers, some of whom have recently accused the president of dragging his feet on a troop decision.
"We would love the luxury of this debate to be reduced down to just one question -- additional troops, 40,000," Emanuel told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "This is a much more complex decision."
"The question, though... does not come [down to] how many troops you send, but do you have a credible Afghan partner for this process that can provide the security and the type of services that the Afghan people need?" the chief of staff added.
The debate over Afghanistan reached a crucial juncture last week after independent auditors revealed a staggering number of fraudulent ballots could slim down President Hamid Karzai's margin of victory so much as to trigger a late runoff race against his main opponent, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Reportedly, Karzai does not want to compete in that contest, and
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63585-emanuel-afghanistan-decision-more-complex-than-40000-troops
By Tony Romm - 10/18/09 11:27 AM ET
http://thehill.com/images/stories/news/2009/october/weekend1017/rahmemanuelgetty.jpg
White House military and defense advisers will meet again this and next week to discuss a proposed troop increase for Afghanistan, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday.
Although the news that President Barack Obama is still calibrating his Afghanistan strategy is hardly unexpected, it is still likely to frustrate congressional lawmakers, some of whom have recently accused the president of dragging his feet on a troop decision.
"We would love the luxury of this debate to be reduced down to just one question -- additional troops, 40,000," Emanuel told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "This is a much more complex decision."
"The question, though... does not come [down to] how many troops you send, but do you have a credible Afghan partner for this process that can provide the security and the type of services that the Afghan people need?" the chief of staff added.
The debate over Afghanistan reached a crucial juncture last week after independent auditors revealed a staggering number of fraudulent ballots could slim down President Hamid Karzai's margin of victory so much as to trigger a late runoff race against his main opponent, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Reportedly, Karzai does not want to compete in that contest, and
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63585-emanuel-afghanistan-decision-more-complex-than-40000-troops