The Obama administration is having trouble finding the hundreds of civilians it wants to bolster its troop buildup in Afghanistan, so military reservists might be asked to do many of the jobs.In announcing the new strategy for the war last month, the administration said it would send several hundred civilians ? such as agronomists, economists and legal experts ? to work on reconstruction and development issues as part of the military's counterinsurgency campaign.
Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday that the military is trying to find ways to fill the gap. That would likely be with reservists, who often have the necessary skills because of the experience they have in their civilian lives, other officials said.
"It's just a realization that they are not going to be able to provide the 'civilian surge' in the near future and the need is now," Morrell said. "We're looking at ways to step into the breach and figure out how we can get additional personnel there to help out on the civilian side," Morrell said.
In another development, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress Thursday that local job creation is a key purpose of the $980 million in extra funds the State Department is requesting for its work in Afghanistan.
Clinton was testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee that is reviewing the administration's request for $7.1 billion in additional funds for the State Department this budget year.
She said the main goal is to improve security at the local level in Afghanistan by putting more people to work. And she said the Obama administration believes that many in the Taliban insurgency who are fighting against American and Afghan forces are motivated more by money than by ideology.
The phenomenon of looking to the military is far from new and was a sore point in Iraq as well after the Pentagon was asked to do tasks the State Department lacked staff to do. The military, among government departments, has long had more money to train and hire people and a greater ability to order its employees to war zones and other hardship posts.
The Obama administration over the coming months is sending about 17,000 additional combat troops and 4,000 more trainers to mentor Afghan security forces ? a buildup long delayed by the war in Iraq as the Afghan campaign became more and more violent in recent years.
Officials haven't released the number of civilians wanted to bolster the new effort and have said there is no firm number yet. But two officials said privately that the number of 500 to 600 was being considered at one point as the new war strategy was being developed in recent months.