The Pentagon is taking a close look at its war strategy in Afghanistan in the face of rising violence from an increasingly complex insurgency, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

In Washington, a senior U.S. official told Reuters the State Department was conducting its own formal review expected to last several weeks, indicating a broader rethink by the Bush administration of its strategy in Afghanistan.

Gates declined to say if a formal or informal review had been launched by the Pentagon but noted the United States had previously examined its strategy in Iraq — a review that resulted in major changes, including a boost in troop numbers.

“We are taking a close look at it and I don’t know whether the results of that will be a significant change in strategy or just some adjustments,” Gates told reporters in London.

“We did that in Iraq and we made a change in strategy in Iraq, and we are going to continue to look at the situation in Afghanistan,” said Gates, who visited Afghanistan this week before flying to London for a meeting with NATO counterparts.

Upon reading this piece I was wondering how they would work the “surge” into the conversation–BAM!  There it is!