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Obama officials push Afghan surge Afghan surge focus turns to Nato
(about 3 hours later)
Top US officials have begun working to build support for the Afghan troop surge, a day after President Barack Obama set out his new strategy. America's Nato allies are set to face renewed requests to commit more troops to Afghanistan, two days after Barack Obama announced the US surge.
Joint Chiefs of Staff head Adm Mike Mullen said the surge would provide "forces to turn this thing around". Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels for two days of talks, with senior US figures expected to attend.
But senior Republican John McCain said that although the strategy would succeed, US and UK troop casualties would rise in the short term. The US wants Nato allies to increase their deployments, but several European nations are reluctant to do so.
Nato minsters are now due to meet, with the troop issue topping the agenda. Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that America was sending 30,000 more forces to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
Mr Obama announced on Tuesday that he was sending 30,000 more US troops to fight in Afghanistan, taking the total number of US soldiers there to more than 100,000. Top White House officials spent much of Wednesday bolstering domestic support for the surge.
MARDELL'S AMERICA Mr Obama's top team have been on Capitol Hill trying to convince the serious and senior elected politicians that this is the right strategy Read Mark Mardell's thoughts in full
Senator John McCain, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the BBC he backed Mr Obama's decision to deploy more troops but not the announcement that their withdrawal would begin in July 2011.
"We need to make it clear to the enemy that we're going to succeed and we are going to stay as long as necessary to succeed," he said.
He also warned that the US and UK should expect more casualties in the short term as the surge gets under way.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says other Nato countries will provide at least 5,000 extra troops, and "probably a few thousand on top of that".
America has asked for 10,000 more troops from Nato allies to help win a war that has in recent months turned increasingly bloody and led to rising foreign troops deaths.
'Achievable'
In Washington, top White House officials sought to bolster support for the new strategy, decided on after weeks of high-level talks.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that failure to act against the resurgent Taliban would have "severe consequences" for the US and the world.
Adm Mullen, Mr Gates and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all addressed congressional committees on the issue.
Failure in Afghanistan would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country and likely a renewed civil war Robert Gates Full text of Obama speech Nato pledges 5,000 Afghan troops US media on the troop surge Afghan concern over pullout dateFailure in Afghanistan would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country and likely a renewed civil war Robert Gates Full text of Obama speech Nato pledges 5,000 Afghan troops US media on the troop surge Afghan concern over pullout date
"This is a huge commitment. It's the right commitment. And it gives us the forces to turn this thing around," Adm Mullen told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Joint Chiefs of Staff head Adm Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all addressed congressional committees on the issue.
He told lawmakers that while there were no guarantees, he expected to "make significant headway in the next 18-24 months". "This is a huge commitment. It's the right commitment. And it gives us the forces to turn this thing around," Adm Mullen said.
Mr Gates, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the first troops would go within weeks. He also backed Mr Obama's goal of beginning to bring them home within 18 months. He said that while there were no guarantees, he expected to "make significant headway in the next 18-24 months".
"Beginning to transfer security responsibility to the Afghans in summer 2011 is critical - and, in my view achievable," he said. Mr Gates warned that failure to act "would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country" and the creation of a sanctuary for al-Qaeda militants.
And he warned that failing to act "would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country" and the creation of a sanctuary for al-Qaeda militants. But senior Republican John McCain warned that although the strategy would succeed, US and UK troop casualties would rise in the short term, and he criticised Mr Obama's target date for withdrawal.
The Taliban have pledged to intensify their fight in response to the US troop increase. "We need to make it clear to the enemy that we're going to succeed and we are going to stay as long as necessary to succeed," he said.
But the Afghan government has backed the move and America's top commander there, General Stanley McChrystal, said he had been given a "clear mission" and the necessary resources. Sceptical
The extent of additional resources coming from Nato allies remains unclear, although European nations have voiced support for Mr Obama's surge. The 30,000 additional service personnel will take the US military presence in Afghanistan to over 100,000.
Britain, Georgia, Poland and Slovakia have all pledged more troops but other nations such as France, Germany, Italy and Denmark are being more cautious. MARDELL'S AMERICA Mr Obama's top team have been on Capitol Hill trying to convince the serious and senior elected politicians that this is the right strategy class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2009/12/selling_obamas_afghan_strategy.html">Read Mark Mardell's thoughts in full
Several countries are expected to declare their intentions over the course of the Nato meeting, correspondents say. America has asked for 10,000 more forces from Nato allies to help win a war that has in recent months turned increasingly bloody.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says other Nato countries will provide at least 5,000 extra personnel, and "probably a few thousand on top of that".
But the full extent of additional resources coming from Nato allies remains unclear.
Britain, Georgia, Poland and Slovakia have all pledged more soldiers but other nations such as France, Germany, Italy and Denmark are being more cautious.
It is expected that some countries will declare their intentions over the next two days but just how many is still not clear, reports BBC defence and security correspondent Nick Childs from Brussels.
Many Nato governments face publics even more sceptical about the mission than those of the US and Britain.
It is also emerging that some of those 5,000 extra non-US troops will not be entirely new - they will be forces that were sent out temporarily to support the Afghan elections that will now be staying on.
A senior US official has said this is a process that is going to take days and weeks.
But Nato officials believe that, at the end of it, some 20 countries will end up pledging extra resources, our correspondent says.