Obama Faces Pressure over Afghanistan: Media Reports

US President Barack Obama is under increasing pressure to soon take a decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, said media reports.

Obama insisted on Monday that he wanted to find the right strategy to combat the Taliban militancy before he made commitment to reinforcements.

However, a report prepared by a top army commander in Afghanistan, which was leaked yesterday, warned that the US mission in Afghanistan would fall flat on its ears if more soldiers were not deployed.

General Stanley McChrystal, in his report, also pointed out that the corruption in the Afghan government has estranged the Afghan people, and that a lot had to be done to win back Afghan hearts and minds.

Needless to add, since coming to office in January, Obama has already amplified US presence in Afghanistan by 50 per cent. Turning deaf ears to calls to send more troops would mean arming his Republican opponents.

Ironically, James Phillips, a Middle East expert at The Heritage Foundation, has another explanation, too. He says that increasing troop numbers further would risk angering his own Democrat supporters.

Phillips said: “General McChrystal’s report puts the President in an awkward position politically because there are members of his own Democratic party that adamantly oppose increasing the numbers of US troops beyond the 68,000 troops that are autorised for the end of this year.”

Making Obama’s choice even more complicated are the ballot-rigging allegations hanging over the Afghan election. These have undermined support for the war, which a majority of Americans now oppose.

Public opposition is also mounting in other countries that are losing soldiers to the conflict.