KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, AND WASHINGTON — Allied military commanders in Afghanistan have told a senior U.S. envoy that they need more troops to deal with an intensifying insurgency in the country's east, raising the possibility that the Obama administration may refocus the war on the lawless border with Pakistan.
Any request to increase overall troop levels to bolster forces in the east could face resistance from Congress, coming at a time when U.S. support for the war appears to be softening. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week showed that a slight majority of Americans now believe the war is not worth fighting.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen, appearing on television talk shows Sunday, noted with concern the diminishing support for the war among the public. He refused to say whether additional troops would be required but described Afghanistan as "serious and deteriorating."
"Afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of [the] Taliban and extremists taking over again, and I don't think that threat's going to go away," he said.
Although American attention has focused primarily on the fight in southern Afghanistan, many senior U.S. military officials have come to the view that they need to step up the fight against Jalaluddin Haqqani and other insurgent leaders in mountainous eastern Afghanistan. They believe that a greater U.S. push there, combined with pressure from Pakistani troops on the other side of the border, could grind down the groups, several of which range between the two Asian nations.
Some military officials believe Haqqani has suffered setbacks because of Pakistani army pressure and is at a vulnerable moment.
"In the east we have an opportunity," said an advisor to the U.S. command. "The Pakistanis have done damage to the Haqqani network."
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of forces in the east, told reporters traveling with U.S. envoy Richard C. Holbrooke on Sunday that Haqqani "is the central threat" in the east and that "he's expanded that reach."
Commanders with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Haqqani, who formerly centered his attacks in Afghanistan's Khowst province, has been advancing farther afield, including as far south as southern Paktika province.
President Obama has already committed 21,000 additional U.S. troops to the campaign in Afghanistan, which will bring the American force to 68,000 by year's end. About 30,000 international troops under NATO command are also deployed in Afghanistan.
