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Petraeus: Afghan deliberations worthwhile

President Barack Obama has been criticized for taking too long to decide on the way forward in Afghanistan, much criticized in some circles, but the chief of the U.S. Central Command said the decision-making interim has been a worthwhile vetting of competing views at the top levels of government.

“I think the process has been very good,” Army Gen. David Petraeus told an audience of military cadets, midshipmen and active-duty service members Friday at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington. “There has been very good debate, a very good discussion. … This is the kind of intellectual discourse that you want.”

Petraeus called Obama’s commitment of time to the deliberative sessions, typically running 2½ hours, as “an extraordinary commitment of time by the commander in chief.”

Petraeus has been a key participant in the eight national security team meetings that have taken place since his top commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, delivered in late August a wide-ranging and sobering assessment of conditions in the country after assuming command in June.

In addition to Obama, others taking part have included McChrystal, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser James Jones and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.

Petraeus did not reveal anything about the tenor of the discussions or hint at the direction Obama may decide upon regarding future U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. But he also did not express any misgivings over the process or appear to share the concern of critics such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who have charged that Obama is unnecessarily delaying a decision.

“It does sharpen everything; it does expose differences of opinion,” Petraeus said of the meetings. “It helps you come to grips with what the assumptions [are] … to re-examine the fundamental objectives of what you’re trying to accomplish. I think this process has enabled exactly that.”

Those differences presumably include Eikenberry’s. The retired general last week reportedly told his superiors at the State Department in two classified cables that adding more troops would essentially be pointless in the face of rampant corruption in the Afghan government, according to numerous news reports that cited “senior U.S. officials” as sources.

Obama’s advisers are now focused on four scenarios for the future use of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. McChrystal’s widely leaked assessment called for a “properly resourced” whole-of-government approach; his follow-on recommended options, still not made public, reportedly include a middle ground of about 40,000 additional troops.

Petraeus said a decision should be imminent.

“Our understanding is a decision will be forthcoming pretty soon, perhaps when [Obama] gets back from the Asia trip that he’s on right now,” Petraeus said. “Then we’ll all press forward. And I think we will do so with enormous benefit from having had these discussions that have again enabled all different participants to provide their thoughts to answer a host of questions, all of which were appropriate, before the president announces a decision.”

Obama will return from his trip Nov. 20.