Obama decision on Afghanistan still not ready

Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 17th September, 2009

US President Barack Obama has asked the US people to be patient while he decides whether to commit more troops to Afghanistan.

The president spoke after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House.

President Obama said he would like to take his time in deciding whether to deploy more troops for the Afghan war in order to get the strategy right.

The president was speaking after the top US military officer, Navy Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more US troops probably would be needed in Afghanistan.

The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Army General Stanley McChrystal, has said he would like thousands of additional troops, as conditions in Afghanistan are deteriorating.

From the Oval Office, where he sat with Prime Minister Harper, Mr Obama said: "My determination is to get this right. That means broad consultation, not only inside the US government, but also with our ISAF partners and our NATO allies. And I am going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions."

Prime Minister Harper said he was not concerned that the Taliban could form an alternative government in Afghanistan, but was worried about the Afghan government's ability to maintain day-to-day security.

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