US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is locking horns with White House aides over Afghan troop numbers as he nears the end of his tenure, with the debate over war strategy playing out in the media.

The run-up to a decision by President Barack Obama this month on a US troop drawdown has once again exposed fissures between military leaders and White House officials over the war, which first came to prominence during a strategy review in 2009.

As Gates bid an emotional goodbye to US troops in Afghanistan before he leaves office this month, he offered a rebuttal to those who argue the death of Osama bin Laden and a worrisome budget deficit require a major reduction in the 100,000-strong US force in Afghanistan.

"We've still got a ways to go," Gates said of the war effort.

"I think we shouldn't let up on the gas too much, at least for the next few months," he told troops Monday at a base in the eastern province of Ghazni.

With civilian aides making their case in leaks to US newspapers, Gates was asked repeatedly by soldiers during his trip what to expect from the planned withdrawal and the effect of the Al-Qaeda leader's demise.

The Pentagon chief, who has spent much of his four-and-a-half years in office immersed in the grinding Afghan war, did not hesitate to speak his mind, saying a large-scale pullout this year could jeopardise hard-won gains against Taliban-led insurgents.

Gates, backing a modest drawdown, argued it was too early to draw any conclusions from the killing of bin Laden and that the Taliban needed to come under continued pressure to force them into peace talks.

He also said the financial cost of the US-led war should not be a decisive factor in such a high-stakes decision.

"I think that it is too soon yet to see the consequences or meaning here in Afghanistan of the elimination of bin Laden," Gates said Saturday in Kabul.

He said "the important thing is for us to see through where we are today".

"We have enjoyed a lot of success over the last year to 18 months. We need to continue that."

His view echoed that of General David Petraeus, the US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, who has warned of the risks of too hasty a withdrawal and that progress in the war remains "fragile".

The killing in Pakistan of bin Laden by US Navy SEALs last month has sparked a debate in Washington about the US military commitment in Afghanistan and the rationale for the increasingly unpopular war.

The New York Times reported Monday that White House aides are weighing much larger troop withdrawals than those discussed even a few weeks ago following bin Laden's death and amid concern over the war's price tag.

Before the bin Laden raid, US officials reportedly were contemplating a limited drawdown of up to roughly 5,000 troops starting in July.

Apart from aides in the White House, a growing number of lawmakers in Obama's Democratic Party have urged a more ambitious drawdown.

In 2009, Gates, Petraeus and other military leaders prevailed in a fierce internal debate over a proposed surge in US troops that left relations strained between the White House and the top brass.

During the deliberations, Vice President Joe Biden emerged as the advocate of a smaller US footprint, favouring a "counter-terrorism" mission targeting Al-Qaeda militants with a combination of special forces and drone strikes.

Gates and senior military officers instead pushed for a manpower-intensive counter-insurgency campaign, saying a smaller force could open the way for a revival of the Taliban.

Speaking to troops Monday, Gates said it was unrealistic to shift to the counter-terror approach now, saying hunting down militants required troops patrolling on the ground to gather intelligence and win the trust of the local population.

Eventually, the mission would shift toward the counter-terrorism model, but he said: "I don't think we're ready to do that yet."

Tweet

Related Links News From Across The Stans