Obama may be near decision on Afghan plan

By Steve Holland and Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama heard the opinions of the Pentagon top brass on a commander's troop request for Afghanistan on Friday, and the White House said his lengthy strategy review was nearing the end.

An assessment of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan from Army General Stanley McChrystal formed the basis of talks that Obama had in the White House Situation Room with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the leaders of each branch of the U.S. military.

"There were no decisions made and I don't have a sense of the timeline for when such a decision will be made. That's obviously the president's purview and his alone," said a senior defense official, who asked not to be named.

McChrystal's review had said the war was deteriorating and he recommended as many as 40,000 more U.S. troops for Afghanistan along with a major effort to train Afghan security forces and improve relations with Afghan civilians.

"We'll go through the region and talk about General McChrystal's assessment," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters as the talks began. "And as we talk about the assessment, I'm sure the resource request will be part of that discussion."

Asked if Obama's review was drawing to an end, Gibbs said: "I think it's nearing its conclusion, yes."

He left unclear whether Obama would announce his new plan immediately after Afghanistan's November 7 presidential election runoff or wait until after he returns from a November 11-20 Asia trip.

A LOT OF QUESTIONS

Obama and his national security team have been debating options for weeks, ranging from a massive troop increase to a strategy that relies less on troop numbers and more on unmanned drone aircraft to attack al Qaeda targets that are mostly located in Pakistan.

Friday's session was the first chance the president had to listen to the chiefs directly after reading their written endorsements.

The defense official described the session as productive and said Obama asked a lot of questions. The military leaders had ample time to express their views of McChrystal's assessment, the official said.

The president has dismissed charges from some conservatives, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, that he has been dithering over what to do about the 8-year-old war while a Taliban offensive has continued apace and U.S. casualties have increased.

Vice President Joe Biden defended Obama from the dithering accusation, telling CNN that Obama is doing exactly what any president should do.

"I like Dick Cheney personally but I really don't care what Dick Cheney thinks. And I'm not sure a lot of Americans do. ... Look at the policy of neglect they left us in Afghanistan," he said.

It has become clear in recent days that administration officials appeared to be laying the ground for a hybrid strategy that would entail a troop increase but not one as large as McChrystal and Republican hawks would prefer.