More Troops?

The New York Times reports on the current divide within the Administration on Afghanistan:

As President
Obama weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, one of the most
consequential decisions of his presidency, he has discovered that the military
is not monolithic in support of the plan and that some of the civilian advisers
he respects most have deep reservations.

While Mr. Obama is hearing from more hawkish voices, including those of
Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Richard
C. Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, some
outside advisers relied on by Mr. Obama have voiced doubts.

Former Secretary of State Colin
L. Powell, a retired four-star Army general, visited Mr. Obama in the Oval
Office this month and expressed skepticism that more troops would guarantee
success, according to people briefed on the discussion. Mr. Powell reminded the
president of his longstanding view that military missions should be clearly
defined.

Mr. Powell is one of the three people, with Senator John
F. Kerry and Senator Jack
Reed, considered by White House aides to be most influential in this current
debate. All have expressed varying degrees of doubt about the prospect of
sending more forces to Afghanistan.

Mr. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee, has warned of repeating the mistakes of Vietnam, where he served, and
has floated the idea of a more limited counterterrorist mission. Mr. Reed,
Democrat of Rhode Island and an Army veteran, has not ruled out supporting more
troops but said “the burden of proof” was on commanders to justify it.