Defense Secretary: McChrystal Report Won't Request More Troops in Afghanistan

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, is set to submit an assessment on the war within the next few weeks. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at least one thing would be missing from the report: contrary to widespread speculation, the general won't include in it a request for more troops.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Gates said requests for additional troops would be considered both "separately and subsequent" to the upcoming report.

Just this week, Anthony Cordesmon, who recently served as an adviser to McChrystal on Afghanistan, published an op-ed in the Times of London saying that, in addition to the 21,000 additional troops sent in the spring, three to nine more American brigades would be required. He went on to say that Afghanistan's government, too, would need to supply additional forces, and he called on the government to double the size of both the army and the police.