Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen: Afghanistan to Need More U.S. Troops

Sept. 15, 2009— -- Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress today that it is "very clear" to him that more U.S. troops will be needed for the war in Afghanistan and that he expects a request from commanders to arrive "in the very near future."

Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee, he does not know how many more troops will be requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

But he said, "It's very clear to me we will need more resources to execute the president's strategy."

Mullen was asked later what he meant by near future and he said he expected McChrystal's submission for additional troops to be made "in the next couple of weeks."

Referring to McChrystal, Mullen told the committee, "I do believe that having heard his views and having confidence in his leadership, a properly resourced counterinsurgency probably means more forces."

The admiral indicated he did not know what ratio of trainers versus combat troops McChrystal might request, but that a debate over the right mix of forces will be made once McChrystal makes a request. Mullen said he is awaiting McChrystal's troop submission to "look at the risks associated with the various options" he will present.

Having ordered the deployment of 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan earlier this year, the total U.S. troops levels in Afghanistan will reach 68,000 by the end of this year.

The debate within the administration on the need for more troops in Afghanistan will likely weigh the concerns expressed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates of the risks associated with a growing presence in Afghanistan, namely that the population turns begins to see the U.S. as an occupying force.

Support for More Afghan Troops Instead of More U.S. Troops

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said last week that he would rather send more trainers to Afghanistan to increase the size of the Afghan Security Forces to 250,000 rather than support the deployment of more combat troops.

In his prepared remarks, Mullen said he too supports a larger Afghan security force, but "more important than the size of the Afghan Security Forces is their quality." And that will require patience, he said, because, "Sending more trainers more quickly may give us a jump start... but only that. Quality training takes time and patience."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Mullen how long it would take before the Afghan Army was capable of changing the momentum of the security situation in Afghanistan. Mullen replied "two to three years." He added that if the U.S. just continued to focus on a training mission through that time that the security environment would continue to deteriorate.

Mullen reiterated his sense of urgency about the situation in Afghanistan and indicated that McChrystal is "alarmed by the insurgency there" which he feels has taken the initiative over the past three years.