US general warns of Afghan failure - Al Jazeera

General Stanley McChrystal (R) said the overall effort in Afghanistan is 'deteriorating' [AFP] The most senior US and Nato commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban "will likely result in failure" if more troops are not sent and a new strategy developed. General Stanley McChrystal said in a leaked report obtained by the Washington Post that, despite some progress, "many indicators suggest the overall effort is deteriorating". Inability to provide adequate resources "also risks a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs, and ultimately, a critical loss of political support" he said, according to the Post report published on Monday. "Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure." 'Government corruption' His said in his assessment that Taliban fighters controlled entire sections of the country. He also criticised the Afghan government for failing the public and said it was riddled by corruption. "The weakness of state institutions, malign actions of power-brokers, widespread corruption and abuse of power by various officials, and Isaf's own errors, have given Afghans little reason to support their government," McChrystal wrote. He called for an "urgent need for significant change in our strategy" in Afghanistan, saying the US needs to interact better with the Afghan people and better organise its efforts with Nato. "Our objective must be the population. The objective is the will of the people, our conventional warfare culture is part of the problem, the Afghans must ultimately defeat the insurgency," he wrote. Waning support The 66-page report, which was confirmed as being genuine by McChrystal's spokesman in Kabul, was sent to Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, in August, and is being reviewed by US President Barack Obama. McChrystal is expected to ask for a troop increase in the coming weeks, with reports he may request up to 30,000 new combat troops and trainers. But a request for extra soldiers faces resistance from within Obama's Democratic party and some Republicans, while opinion polls also show public support for the war is waning. A recent CNN/Opinion Research poll showed about 58 per cent of Americans oppose the Afghan war, while 39 per cent support it. The number of US troops in Afghanistan has almost doubled this year from 32,000 to 62,000 and is expected to grow by another 6,000 by the end of 2009.