Obama has hard sell over Afghan troop hike

By Sue Pleming - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Even before President Barack Obama decides whether to send more combat troops to Afghanistan, many members of his own party are resisting it, with experts saying the president must do a better job to sell his plans.

When Obama announced his review of Afghanistan strategy last March, most Democratic lawmakers lined up to endorse his efforts. But skepticism is now creeping in, with firmer support coming more from Republicans than his own base.

"This puts the president in the middle between his own supporters and his Republican critics who are going to look for any sign of softening resolve as a sign that the president is going weak on terrorism," said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution's Saban Center.

To stem this tide of skepticism, which is also reflected in U.S. public opinion polls, experts say Obama must work harder to promote his strategy -- much as he has done in recent weeks to push an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system.

"We are getting to a turning point here. We are going through a bit of an existential crisis," said Karin von Hippel of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Von Hippel said Obama would have to find a way to "manage" growing concerns on Capitol Hill, while encouraging debate among a public increasingly disenchanted with the war in Afghanistan, where insurgent violence has reached its highest level since the Taliban was ousted from power in late 2001.

"I hear more support for Afghanistan from soldiers than I do from American civilians," von Hippel said.

Riedel, who oversaw the March review of Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy, anticipated a presidential speech soon during which Obama would again lay out his case for why a "fully resourced" effort was imperative in Afghanistan.

Obama is considering a formal assessment of the war from Army General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, whose report is expected to result in a request by the military for more combat forces.

Those additional troops would help counter the growing violence. The strategy to tackle the insurgents head-on is also expected to result in greater U.S. casualties, making it even harder for Obama to continue selling a war to the American public already battle-weary from the Iraq invasion.

"Afghanistan is starting to look like a long-term conflict in which the end and how we are going to get there is not clear to a lot of people," said Alex Thier, an expert on Afghanistan from the U.S. Institute of Peace.

"The administration definitely needs to be more forceful in its justification for not only being involved in Afghanistan today but why this is a longer-term challenge," said Thier.

WHITE HOUSE DEBATE

The White House has sought to play down congressional discord over troop levels but there appears to be growing internal debate over what to do next, with Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, saying it could now take "many, many weeks" before announcements on troop changes are made.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded alarm bells last Thursday when she said Congress would probably not back a call for any more combat troops.