An expanded American footprint would also increase Mr. Obama’s entanglement with an Afghan government widely viewed as corrupt and illegitimate. Multiplying allegations of fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election have left Washington with little hope for a credible partner in the war once the results are final.
The latest tally, with nearly half of the polling stations counted, showed President Hamid Karzai leading with 45.9 percent against 33.3 percent for his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Reuters reported.
But the White House left open the possibility that Mr. Obama would send more troops. “There’s broad agreement that for many years, our effort in Afghanistan has been under-resourced politically, militarily and economically,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Monday. He went on to use the words “under-resourced” and “under-resource” six more times during his daily briefing.
The report comes after a sharp escalation of violence in Afghanistan, where more American troops died in August than in any month since the beginning of the war.
The military announced Monday that two American soldiers died in separate attacks involving homemade bombs, bringing the total killed last month to 51, according to the Web site icasualties.org. The number of such attacks has nearly quadrupled since 2007, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort,” General McChrystal said in a statement after sending his report to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of all Middle East forces.
A military official said General Petraeus immediately endorsed its findings and forwarded it on Monday to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will review it before sending it to the White House.
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The report coincides with an effort by the Obama administration to develop a series of benchmarks, or metrics, to measure progress in Afghanistan, much as was done in Iraq. Congress has insisted on evidence of improvement to justify the additional troops, financial investment and civilian reconstruction teams already committed by Mr. Obama.
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Mr. Gates said Monday that despite the “gloom and doom” that has characterized recent discussion, Afghanistan today is a “mixed picture.”
He said he would consider any troop requests in the coming weeks, but told Bloomberg News that he was concerned about “the implications of significant additional forces in terms of the foreign footprint in Afghanistan, whether the Afghans will see this as us becoming more of an occupier or their partner, and how do you differentiate those.”
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Shortly after taking office Mr. Obama ordered 17,000 more combat troops and 4,000 more trainers to Afghanistan, and once they all arrive the American force there will number 68,000. As the NATO commander, General McChrystal also has 40,000 additional foreign forces available to him, but some of their home governments have placed restrictions on how they can be used.
General McChrystal wants a large expansion of Afghan security forces and an acceleration of their training, according to American commanders. The Afghan government currently has about 134,000 police officers and 82,000 soldiers, although many of them are poorly equipped and have little logistical support.
Under the strategy described by General McChrystal and other commanders in recent weeks, the overriding goal of American and NATO forces would not be so much to kill Taliban insurgents as to make ordinary Afghans feel secure, and thus isolate the insurgents. That means using force less and focusing on economic development and good governance.
General McChrystal also intends to try to unify the effort of American allies like Britain, Canada, Germany and France, and possibly to ask them to contribute more troops, money and training.
With polls showing falling support for the Afghan war, critics in Congress have grown increasingly vocal in calling for withdrawal.
Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, returned from Afghanistan last week and said that despite the capable Americans now there, he was pessimistic about the chances of success and did not even know how to define it.
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“I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we’re getting sucked into an endless war here,” he said in an interview.
Some Afghanistan specialists said Mr. Obama might have to swallow his own doubts and defy his base. “I think he’s going to have to tough it out,” said James Dobbins, a former American envoy to Afghanistan. “The downside of a policy of disengagement and what would happen for now would be more severe both for the president and for the country.” Mr. Obama has said that deciding to send the additional troops was the hardest decision he has made during his young presidency. On Sunday, just before ending his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, he visited briefly at the Cape Cod Air Station with the family of a 21-year-old Marine who was killed in Afghanistan in July.
Mr. Obama had met the Marine, Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos, who was born in Hyannis, Mass., in February when he visited Camp Lejeune, N.C., to announce his plan to withdraw combat forces from Iraq. He told a story then of two Marines who stood in the path of a suicide bomber’s truck and stopped it from entering a Marine outpost in Ramadi, Iraq, losing their own lives but saving dozens of their colleagues.
One of those saved was Corporal Xiarhos. He later shipped out to Afghanistan, where he was killed in action in July.
With the War in Afghanistan approaching its eighth year, the newly appointed U.S. ground commander in Afghanistan, General (Gen.) Stanley McChrystal, is making his case for a new strategy in the recent submission of classified recommendations to U.S. President Barack Obama.  A focal point for discussion is Gen. McChrystal's recommendation for troop levels in the country of which he is expected to recommend an increase by the end of this year.  The classified report was submitted this Monday morning, August 31, 2009 and will eventually find its way onto the desk of President Obama serving as the likely basis upon which he will make decisions about the future of the U.S. engagement in the country.

At this time the 20-page report is being reviewed by Gen. McChrystal's superiors to include Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Mike Mullen, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Egon Ramms, the senior North Atlantic Treaty Organization Commander before going to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and on to the President. A public release of the report is not currently scheduled.  

Although the report does not include requests for troop increases, it is possible that such a request will occur in the coming weeks or shortly thereafter.  Gen. McChrystal reportedly described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious" which has caused some concerns about the overall progress of the war, driving the need for the strategy assessment.  The White House has signaled its concern with Afghanistan as the Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, described the Afghan War as "under-resourced politically, militarily and economically".  

While there have been some leaks about other content in the report, none have been officially recognized by Gen. McChrystal or the U.S. government.  Even still Gen. McChrystal remains resolved to ensure the maximum utilization of resources he already commands with reports that he ordered his subordinates to evaluate the need for high numbers of administrative positions vice utilizing those troops in combat roles.  Additionally, the U.S. Army is considering whether or not they will utilize contractors to conduct guard duty at certain bases as well as convoy duty.

Gen. McChrystal stated, "The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort".  This report will likely be the first step in what will be many of significant changes in U.S. strategy.