Obama pushes for changes in Afghan strategy options

By Matt Spetalnick and Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pushed his Afghan war council Wednesday for revisions in strategy options presented to him before he will go ahead with a final decision on boosting troop levels in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said.

Facing increasing U.S. public skepticism over the eight-year-old war, Obama asked his top advisers to clarify how and when U.S. troops will shift security responsibility to the Afghan government, the administration official said.

The White House said Obama has yet to make up his mind on the proposals that have been put forth, and he is expected to continue deliberations during a nine-day trip to Asia starting Thursday. His press secretary has insisted a decision is still weeks away.

Officials privately have described proposals that would call for deeper U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan to confront a resurgent Taliban and its al Qaeda allies.

They had said earlier that among the four strategy options Obama is considering, there was growing support among some of his top advisers for deploying 30,000 or more additional troops to Afghanistan.

But Obama raised questions during a 2-1/2-hour strategy review, the eighth in a series of such meetings, that could weigh heavily on how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and the timeframe for keeping them there.

As a result, the options presented by Obama's national security team are almost certain to be amended.

Obama seems intent on putting more of the onus on the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose credibility is in doubt after being returned to power despite a fraud-tainted election. He has been widely blamed for tolerating rampant corruption.