Obama to consult lawmakers on Afghan war strategy

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US President Barack Obama confronts a building political storm over Afghanistan on Tuesday, as he talks through his dilemma over war strategy with leading figures in Congress.

With debate heating up on the unpopular war following a spike in US troop deaths, Obama is under intense pressure to offer lawmakers of both parties more detail on his evolving internal review of Afghanistan policy.

The afternoon talks will "walk (lawmakers) through where we are in (the) process and solicit their views," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, cautioning that Obama was still far from deciding on a new strategy.

Political temperatures here are flaring as each party advances conflicting approaches, while war commander General Stanley McChrystal has apparently irked the White House by openly campaigning for more troops.

Obama, who came to power vowing to halt the war in Iraq, is facing stiff opposition from some fellow Democrats to the idea of escalating the conflict in Afghanistan.

Hawkish Republicans are also piling pressure on the president, demanding he quickly meet McChrystal's reported request for 40,000 more soldiers.

A number of senior Democrats, including powerful House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, warn there is little appetite among their ranks for adding to the 68,000 US troops who will be in Afghanistan by late this year.

Other leading Democrats, including the powerful head of the Senate Armed Services committee Carl Levin, want the training of Afghan forces accelerated before more US personnel are committed.

Meanwhile a group of Democratic House lawmakers have introduced legislation seeking to block funds for more troops.

"History tells us that there will not be a military-first solution to the situation in Afghanistan," said one of its co-sponsors, Representative Barbara Lee.

One plan reportedly under consideration is shelving mass counter-insurgency operations against the Taliban in favor of using more drones and air attacks against Al-Qaeda.

But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and the party's last presidential candidate John McCain are leading the charge for more troops -- much as they did before ex-president George W. Bush's "surge" strategy in Iraq.

"Anybody that believes that you can hand over the country or significant parts of the country over to the Taliban and not have to worry about Al-Qaeda returning... has no understanding of the region, nor of the nature of the enemy," McCain told Fox Business Network.

One option definitely out, according to the White House, is withdrawal from Afghanistan, where international forces have been bogged down since 2001 when they invaded the country that hosted the masterminds of the September 11 terror attacks.

"That's not something that has ever been entertained," Gibbs said Monday. "That's not a decision that's on the table to make."

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told CNN in an interview Monday he had reassured Pakistan that Washington would not be pulling out of its neighbour Afghanistan despite the review.

"I had lunch with the Pakistani ambassador last week, and I made absolutely clear to him: we are not leaving Afghanistan," Gates said.

Tuesday's meeting forms part of Obama's deliberations on rescuing a mission which McChrystal warns could be lost within a year without more troops.

The White House says that making a decision on sending more forces, before arriving at a new strategy, could be catastrophic.

Obama will see top military brass, and leading civilian advisors such as Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior intelligence figures, in the White House on Wednesday and Friday, following a session last week.

McChrystal, summoned to meet Obama on Air Force One in Denmark last week, apparently irritated the administration by warning that time was running out for a decision.

Gates retorted Monday that US military officers and civilians advising Obama should keep their views private. (AFP)

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