'Modest' goals in Afghan war

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday signaled lower expectations for the war in Afghanistan, warning that the conflict will be "a long slog" that U.S. and allied forces, even at higher levels, cannot win alone.

Gates said the U.S. military expected to be able to send three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan from late spring through midsummer to fill a security vacuum "that increasingly has been filled by the Taliban." (Brigades can range from 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers.)

Still he said he would be "deeply skeptical" of further U.S. troop increases, saying Afghan soldiers and police must take the lead - in part so that the Afghan people do not turn against U.S. forces as they have against foreign troops throughout history.

U.S. goals in Afghanistan must be "modest" and "realistic," Gates said in his first congressional testimony as Pentagon chief under President Obama.

"If we set ourselves the objective of creating some sort of Central Asian Valhalla over there, we will lose, because nobody in the world has that kind of time, patience and money," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Civilian casualties resulting from U.S. combat and air strikes have been particularly harmful to progress in Afghanistan and must be avoided, Gates stressed.

"My worry is that the Afghans come to see us as part of their problem rather than part of their solution; and then we are lost," he said.

Gates also warned of Iranian interference in Afghanistan, pointing to a slightly increased flow of weapons and components of lethal munitions known as "explosively formed projectiles."

On Iraq, Gates said Pentagon and military leaders were working on several timetables for U.S. troops to move from a combat to an advisory role beginning as early as 16 months from now and extending until the end of 2011.

The options and their risks are being presented to Obama, who will meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon today to hear their views, Gates said.

At the Pentagon his priority will be to reform the cumbersome acquisition process, he said, while crafting "a unified defense strategy that determines our budget priorities."

"The spigot of defense spending that opened on 9/11 is closing," Gates said. "With two major campaigns ongoing, the economic crisis and resulting budget pressures will force hard choices on this department."

Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Gates downplayed suggestions that Obama's order to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison in a year risked the release of terrorists.

"I can't imagine a situation in which detainees in Guantanamo considered a danger to the people of the United States would simply be released," he told the panel.

The man nominated

to be the Pentagon's second- in-command could make at least $500,000 next month with vested stock he earned as a lobbyist for the military contractor Raytheon.

William J. Lynn

has said he will sell his Raytheon stock. Lynn was tapped to be deputy to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, exempted from an Obama administration order against "revolving door" lobbyists who become public officials.

Financial disclosure

documents obtained yesterday show Lynn owns Raytheon "incentive" stock valued between $500,001 and $1 million. That stock is set to vest in February, the documents show.

Additionally

, Lynn owns Raytheon "unvested restricted stock" valued between $250,001 and $500,000, the documents show.

The documents show

Raytheon also gave Lynn a 2008 cash bonus of between $100,001 and $250,000 to be paid next month. Lynn received a salary of $369,615 last year as a senior vice president at Raytheon, where he began working in 2002.

- Associated Press