McChrystal calls for 'revised' strategy

BRUSSELS, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The war effort in Afghanistan is not working, prompting a reconsideration of the current strategy, said top U.S. military commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

McChrystal, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, handed over his strategic assessment of the Afghan war to Gen. David Petraeus, the top official at U.S. Central Command, and his international counterparts.

U.S. President Barack Obama had ordered McChrystal to provide an update on the war effort in Afghanistan earlier this year when military strategists overhauled the mission there.

McChrystal, who expressed optimism when he took over from Gen. David McKiernan in May, said the current strategy in Afghanistan is not working.

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," he said in NATO release.

McChrystal's assessment calls for a renewed effort to break the will of Taliban insurgents while eliminating the threat from al-Qaida. He said the current strategy was not doing enough to give Afghans a viable alternative to the insurgency through social and economic development.

The assessment comes against the backdrop of growing frustration with the Afghan war among the American public as August was the deadliest month for U.S. combat forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Complicating the war effort is the outcome of the Aug. 20 presidential election. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai holds a narrow lead over his closest rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, though the vote tally is mired in accusations of rampant corruption.