Obama Afghan strategy to stress non-military role

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to extend government control beyond the capital and fight corruption in a new U.S. policy that will have a "significant non-military component," a White House official said on Wednesday.

The White House is conducting a review of all aspects of Afghan policy which is not yet complete.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week named Afghanistan as the new administration's greatest military challenge. The United States is considering almost doubling its force to more than 60,000 to battle an intensifying insurgency.

Obama is focused on a "more-for-more" strategy, said a White House official who asked not to be named.

"We're hoping for more from the Afghan government, we're hoping for more from our allies, but we're also prepared to do more as it relates to military and non-military resources.

"Exactly what those military resources will look like is still subject to discussion and debate," the official said.

"But there's no question that we'd like to see more from the Afghan government as it relates to extending governance beyond Kabul, as it relates to fighting corruption which is ultimately vitally important to the delivery of services and governance to the Afghan people," he said.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said a successful long-term U.S. strategy would encompass a mix of approaches.