New Attacks Add Gravity to Afghan Strategy Review

JIM LEHRER:

The U.S. toll in Afghanistan climbed today after a weekend of heavy casualties. There was action on the war's political front in Washington, as well.

NewsHour correspondent Kwame Holman begins our lead story report.

KWAME HOLMAN:

U.S. forces in Afghanistan began the month with their worst losses in more than a year. Just five days into October, at least 16 Americans have been killed. Eight of those fatalities came on Saturday when hundreds of Taliban insurgents attacked a pair of remote bases in Nuristan province near the Pakistani border.

The fighting in the rugged landscape lasted much of the day, and U.S. officials said a significant number of insurgents were killed. Various accounts said American troops were supposed to have been withdrawn from such sparsely populated areas. The reports said the pullout has been delayed by a shortage of helicopters, military red tape, and Afghan politics.

The attacks added new gravity to President Obama's strategy review on the Afghan war. The top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, reportedly has asked for up to 40,000 more troops. Administration officials are considering other options.

But last Thursday in London, the general warned any plan that does not stabilize Afghanistan probably is short-sighted.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, commander, International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan: The situation is serious, and I choose that word very, very carefully. I also say that neither success or failure for our endeavor there in support of the Afghan people and the government can be taken for granted. My assessment, my best military judgment, as I term it, is that the situation is in some ways deteriorating.

KWAME HOLMAN:

That speech may have raised new tensions between the commander and his civilian bosses at the White House and the Pentagon. On Friday, General McChrystal had a private meeting with President Obama aboard Air Force One while the president was visiting Copenhagen, Denmark.

The White House released this image of the two men, apparently absorbed in conversation. Officials did not characterize the exchange.

But on Sunday, the president's national security adviser said he does not believe Afghanistan is in imminent danger of falling to the Taliban. Retired Marine General James Jones also offered a veiled criticism of McChrystal's public remarks.

JAMES JONES, National Security Adviser:

Ideally, it's better for military advice to come up through the chain of command, and I think that General McChrystal and the others in the chain of command will present the president with not just one option — which does, in fact, tend to have a, you know, forcing function — but a range of options that the president can consider.

KWAME HOLMAN:

Today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was even more forceful in discussing the internal debate.

ROBERT GATES, Secretary of Defense: It is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations — civilians and military alike — provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately. And speaking for the Department of Defense, once the commander-in-chief makes his decisions, we will salute and execute those decisions faithfully and to the best of our ability.

KWAME HOLMAN:

In the meantime, the president will hold more meetings with his advisers before making any final decision on sending more troops. He'll also meet with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders tomorrow.

JIM LEHRER:

And to two different views of what the U.S. should do in Afghanistan.

Retired General Jack Keane is former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army and prominent advocate of the surge in Iraq during the Bush administration, and retired Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich fought in the Vietnam War. He's now a professor of international relations at Boston University. His latest book is "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism." I talked with them a short time ago.

Gentlemen, welcome. First, General Keane, do you believe General McChrystal was out of order when he spoke up publicly, as he did in London?