Obama puts brake on Afghan surge?

US President Obama

President Obama has asked Pentagon to go back to the drawing board before sending additional troops to Afghanistan. Ostensibly this is a quick response to the concern of senior Democrats that Afghanistan could become Obama's Vietnam quagmire.

Amidst concerns amongst senior Democrats that a coherent plan with an exit strategy is essential for sending extra troops to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has puts brakes on Afghan surge, reports the Times.

The Pentagon was set to announce the deployment of 17,000 extra soldiers and marines early February (2009) but Robert Gates, the defence secretary, postponed the decision after questions from Obama. 

Obama promised extra 7,000-10,000 troops during the election campaign but the military has inflated its demands. Leading Democrats fear Afghanistan could become Obama’s “Vietnam quagmire”.
 
Pentagon plan is to limit its mission to fighting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and leave democracy building and reconstruction to NATO allies and civilians from the State Department and other agencies.