General: ‘Significant combat power’ needed in Afghanistan in 2013

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday that he
expects to need “significant combat power” in Afghanistan in 2013, suggesting
there could be a sizable pause in withdrawals after troop levels are reduced to
68,000 this summer.

Afghanistan commander Gen. John Allen told the Senate Armed
Services Committee Thursday that 68,000 troops was a good starting number for
2013 as he was pressed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) about reports the Obama
administration is considering a quicker withdrawal.

“My opinion is that we will need significant combat power in
2013,” Allen said. “Sixty-eight thousand is a good going in number, but I owe
the president some analysis on that.”

NATO plans to hand over control of security to Afghan forces
at the end of 2014, but the Obama administration has not indicated how quickly
it plans to withdraw the 68,000 troops that will remain after the summer.

{mosads}In the wake of several recent high-profile incidents — a
rogue U.S. soldier reportedly killing 16 Afghan civilians, and the burning of Qurans
that sparked widespread protests and violence — calls in Congress and the
public have risen for faster withdrawals.

President Obama has said the administration is not changing its plans for withdrawal as a result of the incidents. Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai say they want the Afghans to take the lead for combat operations in 2013, with the
full transition occurring by the end of 2014.

McCain, who has been critical of the Obama administration’s
drawdown timeline, said the planned surge withdrawal of 23,000 troops
“significantly increased the risk of our mission,” and called for a pause after
the summer to assess the impact of the drawdown.

“It would be much better to maintain the 68,000 forces
through the next year’s fighting season, probably longer,” said McCain, the
committee’s ranking member. “At the strategic level our efforts continue to be
undermined by the perception that the United States will abandon Afghanistan
once again.”

Allen told House members on Tuesday that he planned to wait
until after the 23,000 surge forces were withdrawn this summer before making
decisions about further withdrawals.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who has
said he wants to see a steady withdrawal after the surge forces leave, asked Allen
about a Wall Street Journal report about reducing the size of the Afghan security
forces from 352,000 to 230,000 after 2014, in part based on what the
international community will provide financially.

Levin said that reducing the Afghan forces for financial
reasons “may be penny wise, but it would be pound foolish.”

Allen said that the 352,000 number is a surge force, and
that the 230,000 level was a target that officials believe is the right size considering
Afghanistan’s potential enemies in 2017.

U.S. and Afghan officials are working on a strategic
partnership agreement, which has been held up by two issues: detainees and
night raids. An agreement was reached on the detainee issue earlier this month,
and the two sides are still negotiating on night raids.

Allen said that moving to a warrant-based system for
authorizing night raids would not impede the ability to conduct them, adding
that a similar process was set up in Iraq.

“I assure you that we will get this right,” Allen told Sen.
Jack Reed (D-R.I.). “We won’t get it fast. And the outcome will be night
operations that continue to contribute to this campaign with Afghans deeply in
the process.”