Both men were skeptical; they had pushed commanders to destroy the Confederate armies rather than take geography.
Late last year, he pushed commanders to speed up the infusion of new troops into Afghanistan — military planners had originally said it would take 18 months — so that 30,000 new troops would get there by August.
"The bottom line is... that a local mayor's job is to push commander's intent down to his or her troops.
"Make no mistake — this is the result of City Hall aggressively pushing precinct commanders to use stop and frisk beyond what is necessary and effective.
The power vacuum could weaken the Taliban's position at the negotiating table, possibly pushing more commanders to defect to Islamic State, analysts say.
KABUL, Afghanistan — With American commanders pushing to expand the number of armed village forces in areas where their troops and the local police are scarce, the Afghan president is signaling that he has serious concerns that such a program could return the country to warlordism, challenging the power of the central government.
With the army needing to axe 20,000 posts because of budget cuts, commanders are pushing to downsize as quickly as possible rather than prolong the process.
While some military commanders pushed for the designation, the administration ultimately decided that such a move might alienate the Haqqanis and drive them away from future negotiations.
At the urging of their protectors in Pakistan, Taliban members say, they continue to push midlevel Taliban commanders back across the border to carry on the insurgency, which extends Pakistan's influence in southern Afghanistan.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to hold at least two Afghanistan meetings at the White House this week, following his session on Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in which he pushed his military commanders to return with more specific options.
