The United States should not proceed with a new Afghanistan strategy committing a potentially major increase in US resources, including tens of thousands more troops, without first securing a clear partner in Kabul, Kerry told CNN.

"It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working in, with," said Kerry, chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"When our own commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is, in fact, good governance, and we're living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the president responsibly say, 'Oh, they asked for more, sure -- here they are?'"

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government has been plagued by uncertainty and a legitimacy crisis after allegations of widespread fraud in the August elections whose preliminary results put him on top, and ongoing charges of corruption.

Kerry, a Democrat who lost his 2004 bid for the White House to former Republican president George W. Bush, was in Afghanistan ahead of an anticipated announcement on whether a run-off election would be held between Karzai and his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Obama is nearing a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan, after weeks of deliberations with his top advisers, but also as public support wanes for the conflict.

The US contingent, set to reach 68,000 troops by the end of the year, is experiencing heavy casualties as it combats a Taliban that has regrouped and gained momentum.

Among those options being considered are to follow a grim assessment by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and adopt a counter-insurgency strategy that requires at least 40,000 additional troops.

Vice President Joe Biden meanwhile is pushing for a more narrow, counter-terrorism approach focused on targeting Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan and primarily in Pakistan using unmanned drone aircraft and Special Operations Forces.

Top Democrats in the US Congress, meanwhile, are pushing for a middle path that might see thousands of troops deployed solely to train the Afghan security forces.

Kerry stressed, as the White House has, that withdrawing from Afghanistan, which Obama has called a "war of necessity" and not a "war of choice," is out of the question for now.

"Obviously, if you exhibit weakness or indecision, or if the United States were to suddenly pull out of here, it would be disastrous in terms of the message that it sends. Nobody is talking about that. That's not what's on the table here," he said.

"What we're trying to figure out so that we don't repeat mistakes of the past, is not just... endlessly asking our military to deploy and go out and fight if we aren't certain that we're giving them the mission that, in fact, is achievable and that the American people will in fact stay committed to it."

Even if Obama approves McChrystal's favored option, most of the reinforcements would not arrive in Afghanistan until next year, the senior lawmaker noted.

Speaking to CBS television, Kerry said he did not see how Obama "can make a decision about the committing of our additional forces, or even the further fulfillment of our mission that's here today, without an adequate government in place or knowledge about what that government's going to be."

He said it was time for Karzai to "step up" and explain how they could be a viable partner in the US and NATO-led mission to rout out Taliban militants and build a stable Afghanistan eight years into the war.

Excerpts of the interviews were provided by the networks and were to be aired in full on Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" and CBS's "Face the Nation."

earlier related report
US warns it needs credible Afghan partner
Top US officials Sunday delivered a sharp warning to Afghan leaders to resolve the election crisis, saying it would be irresponsible to send in more US troops without a strong government in place.

"I think it would be irresponsible and... it would be reckless to make a decision on US troop level if, in fact, you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether in fact there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space," top White House advisor, chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel told CNN television.

Two months after Afghanistan's August 20 presidential elections, the count has been bogged down by allegations of widespread fraud and ballot-box stuffing mostly in favor of President Hamid Karzai.

Karzai, a key US ally who has led his country since December 2001, is said by preliminary results to have won about 55 percent of the vote.

But amid the fraud accusations, he has come under mounting pressure to accept a run-off against his rival ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, reported to have garnered about 28 percent of the vote.

The electoral stalemate is complicating a major US policy review ordered by US President Barack Obama on the way forward in Afghanistan, with the number of US troops already set to reach 68,000 by the end of the year.

"It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working with," said powerful US Senator John Kerry.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and close Obama ally, was speaking during a fact-finding visit to Kabul and led some of the bluntest US criticism to date of Karzai.

The White House is mulling a request by top US and NATO commander on the ground, General Stanley McChrystal, to commit an extra 40,000 troops to Afghanistan to step up counter-insurgency operations.

But Kerry told CNN Sunday that he was "not yet convinced" about deploying more troops to the increasingly unpopular and bloody conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 400 coalition troops this year.

"We have a responsibility to make certain that the government here is a full partner in our efforts to be able to be as effective as we can be," Kerry said.

The Islamic hardline Taliban, ousted from power in late 2001 by a US-led invasion, has led an increasing insurgency against more than 100,000 foreign troops under US and NATO command.

"I think this is a moment for President Karzai to frankly step up and help to share with the world a better vision for how the government here is going to deliver and be a full partner," Kerry told CBS's Face the Nation in a separate interview.

He highlighted the need for tangible government reform which he said was "essential to our troops to be able to carry out their mission and to the longer-term interests of our country."

Kerry warned on CNN there was already a "threat of the failure of governance, which is empowering Taliban to be able to recruit people."

A ruling on the election had been expected Saturday, but Afghan officials said the two commissions involved in deciding the outcome are deadlocked on what constitutes fraud.

Kerry said he had been told by Afghan authorities that an election run-off could be organized in two weeks. Obama has meanwhile promised that his review will be complete in the coming weeks.

The White House is also focusing efforts on rooting out Al-Qaeda linked militants, most said to be sheltering in the lawless border region of Pakistan.

"We would love the luxury of this debate to be reduced down to just one question, additional troops, 40,000. This is a much more complex decision," chief of staff Emanuel insisted on CNN.

"Before you commit troops, which is not irreversible, but puts you down a certain path, before you make that decision, there's a set of questions that have to have answers that have never been asked," Emanuel argued.

"And it's clear that after eight years of war, that's basically starting from the beginning. And those questions never got asked."

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News