Report: General wants more Afghan forces

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, believes the Afghan army and police must expand more rapidly than planned, officials say.

The Washington Post reported Friday McChrystal gave Secretary of Defense Robert Gates a status update this week. Current plans, already speeded up, are to increase the size of the Afghan army from 85,000 to 134,000 by 2011 but McChrystal reportedly said the Afghan force should be twice that size.

The Obama administration has allocated $7.5 billion a year to train Afghan security forces.

"There are not enough Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police for our forces to partner with in operations ... and that gap will exist into the coming years even with the planned growth already budgeted for," a U.S. military official in Kabul told the Post.

In a telephone conversation with Pentagon reporters a few days ago, McChrystal visualized a time when U.S. and Afghan forces would be twinned. The current offensive in Afghanistan is being carried out mainly by U.S. forces.