06 October 2009: Washington Post
By Walter Pincus
Commentators who say Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is pressuring the White House to accept his ideas or else didn't pay close attention to his remarks last week in London.
"I'm certainly not going to circumvent any political leadership, because at the end of the day the political leadership are the people who I work for, and I'm proud to do that," McChrystal told the International Institute for Strategic Studies last Thursday. Once a decision on troop levels is made, he said, he will carry it out.
Acknowledging that the White House and others are reexamining "our goals and objectives" in the Afghanistan war, McChrystal called the process "a very detailed policy-level debate" that is "incredibly important and incredibly healthy." He said resources, including troop levels, should be based on goals: "I don't think that if we align our goals and our resources that we'll have a significant problem."
Some reports have said McChrystal is pushing for a quick decision. The general said in London, for example, that "time is important" and that he would like the process "to go as quickly as possible." But when asked directly if there was enough time for debate, he replied, "I don't think we have the luxury of going so fast we make the wrong decision." He said that "a healthy public debate, a healthy decision-making process" that results in "resolute execution" by the Afghans, the United States and the coalition, would change "the time horizon."
Most of his prepared remarks dealt with the impact of 30 years of war on Afghans and how that affects the nation today. Although he described the situation as "serious" and "in some ways deteriorating," he added that is not the case everywhere, citing "huge positive gain" in women's rights, road construction and education.
"Who's winning?" he asked. "It depends on who you ask." In the end, he said, while the views of NATO governments and the news media will affect the situation, "this is going to be decided in the minds and perceptions of the Afghan people."
Many reports have said that McChrystal has recommended 40,000 additional troops for the war. In fact, he has put forward a range of troop levels. The highest level mentioned, 30,000 to 40,000, would provide the lowest risk of failure to reach the president's goals; sending 10,000 would result in the highest risk. McChrystal referred to this obliquely in London, saying, "I've laid out my analysis on what force I think is required, and I've put risks associated with that, so people will make decisions based on that."
Last month, McChrystal talked with senators who visited Kabul about his troop recommendations; Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was one of them. Asked on CBS News's "Face the Nation" on Sunday about McChrystal's recommendation, Levin said, "First of all, there's going to be options offered -- it's not just 40 [thousand]."
