Obama Rejects Afghan War Options

President wants modified plans, timetables
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2009 6:39 AM CST
Updated Nov 12, 2009 7:45 AM CST
Obama Rejects Afghan 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, Nov. 11, 2009.   (Pete Souza)

President Obama refused to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented to him in yesterday's 2 1/2 hour strategy meeting, the AP reports, as concerns soar over the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the ability of a corrupt Afghan government to eventually secure its own country. Obama asked for modified choices, including different troop counts and length of deployments, and for specific timelines in each scenario for turning over control to Afghan forces, the Wall Street Journal reports.


Obama's call for more options comes as his own ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, voiced strong misgivings about a US troop increase, centered on a concern that bolstering the American presence in Afghanistan could make the country more reliant on the US, not less. While Obama is expected to send in more troops, the message yesterday seemed to be that won't accept an open-ended US commitment.


(More Afghanistan stories.)

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