Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Official: Obama won't take any current war options

In this image released by the White House, President Barack Obama meets with his national security team to discuss Afghanistan in Situation Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

In this image released by the White House, President Barack Obama meets with his national security team to discuss Afghanistan in Situation Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/The White House, Pete Souza)

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
That push follows strong reservations about a possible troop buildup expressed by the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official. In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy -- most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.
But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

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