US forces in Afghanistan under-resourced: US military chief

A top US military commander on Wednesday admitted that its forces in Afghanistan have been "under-resourced", and underlined the "urgency" for a change in its strategy to fight insurgency in the troubled country.

The war in Afghanistan has been very badly under-resourced for the better part of four or five years, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

"We have a culture of poverty there amongst us in terms of being under-resourced in an economy of force for this extensive period of time to get to a point where we didn't have the wherewithal to create a program like that -- not that we didn't think it would be needed," he said.

"The totality of that under-resourcing is something we're just coming to grips with. And it's not as simple as trainers, or not as simple combat troops," he argued in response to a question from Senator Joseph Lieberman. Referring to his statement early this month that "time is not on our side" with regard to Afghanistan, Mullen said he felt an urgency for a change in the US strategy to retake the initiative from the insurgents who have grabbed it over the last three years.

"I have a sense of urgency about this. I worry a great deal that the clock is moving very rapidly," Mullen told Senator John McCain during a Congressional hearing.