Obama aide says no more troops to Afghanistan

Reuters ^ | June 30, 2009 | N/A

[Jet Jaguar]

President Barack Obama's top security adviser has told U.S. military commanders there are no plans to send more troops to Afghanistan for now and that the focus instead will be on economic development and reconstruction, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

National Security Adviser James Jones delivered that message last week in Afghanistan, where Marine Brigadier General Lawrence Nicholson hinted he could use more "thousands more" troops, the newspaper said.

Jones' message seemed designed to cap expectations that more troops might be coming, although the Obama administration has not ruled out additional deployments in the future, the Post said.

"This will not be won by the military alone," Jones told the Post during his trip. "We tried that for six years."

"The piece of the strategy that has to work in the next year is economic development. If that is not done right, there are not enough troops in the world to succeed."

An extra 17,000 troops Obama deployed to fight a growing Taliban-led insurgency in southern and western Afghanistan were expected to be on the ground by mid-July. Another 4,000 troops being deployed to train Afghan security forces are due to arrive by August.

The forces are part of a build-up that could expand the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops by the end of this year, more than double the 32,000 at the end of 2008.

[kcvl]

Obama’s national security adviser is a retired four-star Marine general and longtime friend of Senator John McCain.

Served as the Marines’ top lobbyist in the Senate during the early 1980s — where his first boss was Navy Captain John McCain.

military assistant to Defense Secretary William Cohen in the late 1990s.

Since leaving the Corps, Jones has worked on energy issues as head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy and served on the boards of Boeing and Chevron.

[SunkenCiv]

the focus instead will be on economic development and reconstruction

Obama is getting ready for a different war. When it starts, try to act surprised.

[A Navy Vet]

Well, by all means, let’s send a Trillion dollars. Just think of all the heroin poppies they could grow.

[Soothesayer]

There is only enough money for his war against America.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“There is only enough money for his war against America.”

You win the kewpie doll!

[Karliner]

I wonder if we’ll be giving the Afghani’s free health Care along with Miranda rights, the copy to the Army field manual, and of course autographs by our very own no experience Panetta....on plans for future assaults prior to assaults.