U.S. president delays sending more troops to Afghanistan

President Barack Obama, under pressure for a swift decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan, has delayed action due to doubts about last month's election there and over the government in Kabul's legitimacy, officials said on Tuesday.

As a prominent Democrat lawmaker warned Obama not to repeat what he described as the Bush administration's "half-ass it and hope" policy, and Republicans accused him of foot-dragging, administration officials said there would be a thorough review of whether their six-month-old war strategy could still be effective.

They said the fraud-marred Afghan vote and its impact on public perception there would be a key to the review.

Even the best counterinsurgency strategy -- focused on winning over the Afghan population and sidelining the Taliban -- "cannot work" without a legitimate government in place, one White House official said, underscoring the intense debate about how to move forward.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, planned to submit a request for more soldiers shortly after completing his confidential assessment on the war on August 30.