More Troops Possible For Afghanistan

National Security Advisor Jim Jones wouldn’t rule out sending more troops to Afghanistan on “Fox News Sunday.”  But just a month ago Jones told commanders in Afghanistan that more troops was not an option.

Jim Jones, the President’s National Security Adviser, warned American commanders in Afghanistan a month ago that no more troops would be forthcoming and that the strategy should focus on economic development. “If that is not done right, there are not enough troops in the world to succeed,” he said.

But US Commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has called for more troops, as have Senators Joe Lieberman and Carl Levin, who have urged President Obama to double the size of the 17,000 troops there now.  Now, Jones seems open to it.

The administration, Jones said, was “not ruling it out at all,” though he stressed that troop levels was just one component of a three-prong strategy.

“What is not lacking in Afghanistan is a comprehensive strategy,” Jones said. “We have published the strategy that not only was agreed to here by everyone in the nation’s capitol, but also by a lot of our international allies. Essentially, there are three prongs to the strategy. There’s a security prong. That is about troops. But economic recovery and cohesion with the security strategy is important. And better governance and rule of law from Kabul all the way down to the local townships is extremely important. So my point in saying what I said was that it is not simply about troops.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.