Afstan: You didn't need a crystal ball...

...to foresee what was coming in Gen. McChrystal's report:

Gen. McChrystal calls for overhaul of Afghanistan war strategy
The newly appointed head of NATO and U.S. forces is said to urge an expansion of Afghan security forces and a revamped counterinsurgency strategy that focuses on making Afghan citizens feel safer.

A top U.S. and allied commander set the stage for a recommendation to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, calling Monday for an overhaul in strategy to help stem losses that began during the Bush administration and have accelerated in recent months.

In a brief statement about his internal report, released by the command in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal acknowledged that turning the war around would be difficult.

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said.

In his report, which was prepared for military leaders, McChrystal did not specifically recommend a troop increase, instead spelling out plans to intensify development of Afghan security forces, improve the country's government and refocus economic development initiatives, according to a description by NATO officials.

But McChrystal is widely expected among military officials to seek extra troops, and experts said Monday that his assessment would almost certainly lead to such a request in coming months...

The assessment reflects McChrystal's belief that the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization need to adopt a counterinsurgency warfare strategy that focuses on making Afghan citizens feel safer, military officials said [see this post from late June].

Such a strategy would rely more heavily on the presence of troops, probably requiring greater numbers than the combined U.S. and NATO force, which has passed the 100,000 mark this year. McChrystal commands the combined force...

McChrystal outlined some of the basics of the new strategy last week in a seven-page counterinsurgency guidance document.

"We will not win simply by killing insurgents," he wrote. "We will help the Afghan people win by securing them, by protecting them from intimidation, violence and abuse."

The military must "communicate -- through word and deed" that NATO and Afghan forces can protect the people, he said...

An early step in the new strategy was addressing civilian casualties. McChrystal issued a directive in early July that appears to have helped markedly reduce the number of Afghan civilians that military officials say have been killed in U.S. bombings.

Top military officials in Afghanistan argue that the current goal of 135,000 Afghan army members should be doubled.

McChrystal has said that training could be hastened by improving the partnerships between Afghan units and international combat forces.

American and NATO combat units do not always operate in the same areas as Afghan units. Military commanders said they want to position the units in closer proximity so they can regularly work together [emphasis added]...

You also didn't need that crystal ball to predict that defense secretary Gates would remain cagey (as he has been recently):

...
Gates said he has not seen any request for additional American troops from McChrystal. President Obama authorized sending an additional 21,000 U.S. forces into Afghanistan this year. So far, about 16,000 have gone and another 5,000 remain to be sent -- which would bring the total number to 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

"We have been very explicit that Gen. McChrystal should be forthright in telling us what he needs in order to accomplish the mission he has been given. We will look at his assessment and then look at the resource recommendations that me makes. I think there are larger issues. I have expressed some concerns in the past about the size of the footprint, the size of the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan. And, clearly, I want to address those issues. We will have to look at the availability of forces, the cost, a lot of different thing we'll have to look at once we get his recommendations before we make any recommendations to the president."

A Canadian viewpoint:

...

Although Mr. Obama vowed during the U.S. election campaign to focus on winning the war in Afghanistan while pulling out of Iraq, he now faces mounting opposition from within his own party.

Polls show public support flagging with barely one in four Americans backing sending more troops. Countries such as Canada and the Netherlands have set end dates for combat operations. If allies widely considered among the most loyal in the United States leave Afghanistan, Mr. Obama will face even greater domestic opposition to sending more U.S. troops.

Getting recalcitrant NATO allies to send more troops - especially to areas in the south and east where most of the fighting and dying occurs - bedevils the alliance...

Meanwhile, the US Marines are ready to answer the call, should it come from the president (via Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs):

Marine commander sees progress in Afghanistan
Marine Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland says troops have made strides in winning control of Helmand province from the Taliban. He says the going is slow for U.S. troops training Afghan forces.
...
Marine Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland also said the Marine Corps was ready to send more troops to Afghanistan if asked by top U.S. officials. "Everything we're doing is preparing to put more forces in theater," Helland said.

The Marines' goal is to train the Afghan security forces to carry the fight to the Taliban. The training is going slowly, Helland said.

"They don't understand leadership, they don't understand noncommissioned officers," he said. "To use a Marine term, they're a herd. But once trained, they're warriors [more on the Afghan army here, and a listing of the rather impressive number of Marine units deployed to Afstan]."..

Tad pollyannaish (see this about Helmand from Michael Yon). The Marine leadership's eagerness to help in Afstan is reminiscent of last year, before a US troop buildup was authorized--by both Presidents Bush and Obama.

And always keep this in mind:

Sending message we're tired of fight boosts taliban

More on media messaging here.