The fallout continues from a Sept. 21 report in the Washington Post that credited the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan with stating that the situation in that country is bad and will get worse without an influx of more troops. In a Sept. 23 report by Voice of America, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command, expressed his agreement with Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal while speaking to a conference on counterinsurgency. While not addressing specifics of McChrystal’s assessment, Petraeus said that the mission calls for much broader support to succeed. “To counter terrorism … requires more than just your special mission unit forces,” Petraeus said. “It really requires a whole of governments. A comprehensive approach to these problems is the answer.” Meanwhile, Pentagon officials are still working to determine if an increased troop presence is warranted.
