White House Denies BBC Afghan Surge Report
The BBC's "Newsnight" program reported Wednesday night that Mr. Obama has already made his decision, informed the British government that a significant troop increase was coming, and that he may seek to make the announcement publically ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Slovakia next week.
Newsnight, a well-regarded hard-news magazine show, did not name sources for its report.
The White House was quick to tell the BBC that the claim was incorrect, and that the Mr. Obama was still in the highly publicized decision-making process about how to alter the American war strategy in Afghanistan.
Above: President Obama and his national security team listen to a presentation from Karl W. Eikenberry (onscreen in middle), U.S. Ambassdor to Afghanistan, during a briefing on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Situation Room of the White House on Oct. 14, 2009.
Speaking to the British network, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs added, "I think that you can assume that the BBC will not be the first outlet for such a decision."
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Afghan Ambassador to the United States, Said Jawad, declined to confirm the report when he spoke to Newsnight on Wednesday, saying confirmation should come from the U.S. government, but he added that "all indications are that President Obama is honoring the request by Gen. McChrystal."
Jawad was referring to the commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has put his request for additional troops to Mr. Obama in the form of three options; a massive influx of 80,000 troops, a middle option of about 40,000, or a minimalist addition of about 10,000 "boots on the ground". It has been widely reported that McChrystal favors the 40,000 option himself.
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Newsnight asked Jawad if his "all indications" remark meant the 40,000 to 45,000 extra troops sought by McChrystal had been agreed to by the White House. "This is part of the request, yes," he said.
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday that his government would send as many as 500 additional troops to Afghanistan — if other countries involved bolstered their forces. Britain currently has about 9,000 service members in Afghanistan, the second largest contingent behind the United States, which has about 68,000 forces in the country.