US loosing Afghan war, warns US commander

LONDON: The conflict in Afghanistan is deteriorating in some ways and will "not remain winnable indefinitely," the top US military commander in the country warned Thursday.

General Stanley McChrystal added that forces would be in a much stronger position once US President Barack Obama decides on troop levels in Afghanistan, while saying that it would be wrong to rush to make a decision.

"The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully ... neither success nor failure can be taken for granted," said McChrystal, who has asked for up to 40,000 more troops to fight the Taliban.

"The situation is in some ways deteriorating but not in all ways," he told the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank in London.

"Waiting does not prolong a favourable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely."

McChrystal, who is also the International Security Assistance Force commander in Afghanistan, warned in a report leaked last month that the conflict could be lost within a year without more troops.

He reportedly wants up to 40,000 more US troops in Afghanistan.

The US general said Obama led talks in the White House this week "very effectively" but declined to give any further details on the decision-making process.

"I think that is a necessary process we go through so we come to a clear decision... Once he makes that decision I think we'll be in a much stronger position," he said.

Asked if he was worried that the political debate was holding up military action, he said: "I think the more debate we have the healthier this is going to be."

"I don't think we have the luxury of going so fast we make the wrong decision," he added.

The White House says Obama will only decide on whether to accept McChrystal's request for more troops -- as part of a rigorous counter-insurgency push -- after first arriving at a new US strategy.

The process could take weeks, officials say, warning that past conflicts like the Vietnam war have shown the folly of throwing thousands of men into a fight that is not properly defined.