by Olivia Hampton Olivia Hampton –

Sun Oct 18, 5:10 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) –

US Senator John Kerry said, in an interview to be aired Sunday, it was "irresponsible" to send more US troops to Afghanistan at this time, amid a deepening election crisis that has placed the Kabul government's legitimacy at stake.

The United States should not proceed with a new Afghanistan strategy committing a potentially major increase in US resources, including tens of thousands more troops, without first securing a clear partner in Kabul, Kerry told CNN.

"It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working in, with," said Kerry, chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"When our own commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is, in fact, good governance, and we're living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the president responsibly say, 'Oh, they asked for more, sure -- here they are?'"

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government has been plagued by uncertainty and a legitimacy crisis after allegations of widespread fraud in the August elections whose preliminary results put him on top, and ongoing charges of corruption.

Kerry, a Democrat who lost his 2004 bid for the White House to former Republican president George W. Bush, was in Afghanistan ahead of an anticipated announcement on whether a run-off election would be held between Karzai and his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Obama is nearing a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan, after weeks of deliberations with his top advisers, but also as public support wanes for the conflict.

The US contingent, set to reach 68,000 troops by the end of the year, is experiencing heavy casualties as it combats a Taliban that has regrouped and gained momentum. Related article: Obama's tensions with generals.

Among those options being considered are to follow a grim assessment by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and adopt a counter-insurgency strategy that requires at least 40,000 additional troops.

Vice President Joe Biden meanwhile is pushing for a more narrow, counter-terrorism approach focused on targeting Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan and primarily in Pakistan using unmanned drone aircraft and Special Operations Forces.

Top Democrats in the US Congress, meanwhile, are pushing for a middle path that might see thousands of troops deployed solely to train the Afghan security forces.

Kerry stressed, as the White House has, that withdrawing from Afghanistan, which Obama has called a "war of necessity" and not a "war of choice," is out of the question for now.

"Obviously, if you exhibit weakness or indecision, or if the United States were to suddenly pull out of here, it would be disastrous in terms of the message that it sends. Nobody is talking about that. That's not what's on the table here," he said.

"What we're trying to figure out so that we don't repeat mistakes of the past, is not just... endlessly asking our military to deploy and go out and fight if we aren't certain that we're giving them the mission that, in fact, is achievable and that the American people will in fact stay committed to it."

Even if Obama approves McChrystal's favored option, most of the reinforcements would not arrive in Afghanistan until next year, the senior lawmaker noted.

Speaking to CBS television, Kerry said he did not see how 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's going to be."

He said it was time for Karzai to "step up" and explain how they could be a viable partner in the US and NATO-led mission to rout out Taliban militants and build a stable Afghanistan eight years into the war.

Excerpts of the interviews were provided by the networks and were to be aired in full on Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" and CBS's "Face the Nation."

Kerry: Too soon to send more troops to Afghanistan

October 18, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) —

The U.S. strategy in Afghanistan will require more than targeted missile strikes and use of special operations forces to succeed and should include counterterrorism efforts coordinated closely with ground troops, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman said after a visit to the region.

"I do not believe that a counterterrorism strategy all by itself without a sufficient level of counterinsurgency will work," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. "If you don't have a presence on the ground that's effective, it's almost impossible to collect the kind of intelligence that you need to be equally effective in your counterterrorism."

Kerry's comments in television interviews broadcast Sunday came as President Obama considers a proposal to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Some of the president's closest advisers, including Vice President Biden, have advocated a more focused military approach, targeting al-Qaeda with missile-carrying unmanned aircraft and U.S. special forces strikes in Pakistan.

But that's not enough, Kerry said in interviews taped Saturday in Kabul, the Afghan capital, after a trip that included a meeting with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in the country

The general has outlined a proposal for Obama that includes adding as many as 80,000 more U.S. troops or as few as 10,000 to aid in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Kerry is not promoting sending more troops now. That would be irresponsible, he said, when Afghanistan's election is not yet finished.

"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's going to be," he said.

Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, is resisting international pressure to accept fraud rulings that could force him into a runoff with his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

Kerry said there also should be a clear commitment in Afghanistan to eliminating government waste and corruption before Obama agrees to send more U.S. troops.

"I believe it is critical for us to be satisfied that the reform efforts that are absolutely mandatory within the government here are in fact going to take place and be fully implemented," he said.

Kerry dismissed criticism that Obama's deliberations on additional troops is a sign of indecision or weakness.

"I think this is being approached in an entirely responsible way," he said. "General McChrystal told me that even if the commander in chief made the decision tomorrow to put those troops in here, many of them wouldn't even begin to start to flow here until next year because that's the way it works."

Kerry appeared on CNN's State of the Union and CBS' Face the Nation.