WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Wednesday, Campbell said he may seek to boost the US military presence in Afghanistan to ensure the Defense Department can effectively train Afghan security forces to fight the Taliban.
"General Campbell should make the case to the President and Secretary of Defense for the additional troops as soon as he can, so the services can adjust their force generation plans," Bucci said.
The senior commander has the best view of the military’s actual needs on the ground in Afghanistan, Bucci noted, and if he makes a compelling argument the Obama administration should listen to him.
"Campbell is not a frivolous or alarmist leader," Bucci explained. "If he believes he needs the extra troops, he is probably correct."
Current and former military officials, Bucci claimed, have long called for any troop withdrawals or increases to be based on the situation in theatre and not on "artificial deadlines set for non-military reasons."
Six US servicemen were killed in Afghanistan last week by a suicide bomber near their airbase in Bagram.
The Taliban have recently taken over parts of Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand. Afghan security personnel have attributed insurgent gains to the negligence of senior US-trained military commanders, local media reported.
