White House Still Vague on Afghan Escalation Decision

"Certainly Possible" Decision Could Come Before Election

The Afghan Presidential runoff has been set for November 7, and while the uncertainty over the Afghan government has certainly been the recent excuse for President Obama’s lack of public candor about his decision about the escalation in the nation, it doesn’t seem like the date is going to push him into being more open about his intentions with regards to the war.

In fact the White House is being as vague as ever, with spokesman Robert Gibbs saying that it was “certainly possible” the administration would announce its decision at some point before November 7.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal has been pressing for an ever increasing number of additional troops on top of the current 68,000 man commitment. At present, Gen. McChrystal is seeking an additional 80,000 troops, and says that 40,000 is the “absolute minimum.”

But despite growing pressure from within the administration and from NATO, President Obama seems to be in no hurry to make his decision public. He announced over a month ago that the decision “can wait,” but at this point what seems to be an almost certain announcement of a massive and unpopular escalation see

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.