WASHINGTON AND KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Before President Obama commits additional troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. needs assurances that Afghan leaders preside over a stable government that is legitimate in the eyes of its citizens, top Democratic officials said in TV appearances Sunday.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, on CNN's "State of the Union," said the overriding question facing the Obama administration is whether it has "a credible Afghan partner for this process that can provide the security and the type of services that the Afghan people need."
The White House is in the midst of a full-scale review of its strategy in Afghanistan. Options include adding tens of thousands of troops in a renewed bid to stabilize the country, as U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal wants, or narrowing the mission to focus on subduing the Taliban. The White House has devoted five meetings to its Afghan review, with more scheduled over the next two weeks, Emanuel said.
Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who is visiting Afghanistan, endorsed the White House's approach, saying Sunday that it would be premature to deploy more troops without a clear picture of the nation's overall political condition. Kerry held talks with McChrystal, the U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, and also met with officials in Pakistan.
"I don't see how President Obama can make a decision about the committing of our additional forces or even the further fulfillment of our mission that's here today without an adequate government in place or knowledge about what that government is going to be," Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "So there's some very fundamental questions that have to be answered about the status of the Afghan government."
That status is still up in the air. Preliminary results showed President Hamid Karzai winning a majority of votes in the Aug. 20 election, but the results were tainted by fraud.
A U.N.-backed commission's audit of the vote has been essentially completed, according to officials familiar with the recount process. But a separate Afghan-appointed election panel is disputing the methodology. Public disclosure of the results has been repeatedly delayed.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Sunday that the disputed election should not be an excuse for the White House to drag out its review.
