Colonel David Haight stood behind General Stanley McChrystal's assessment that 40,000 more troops would be necessary to make more progress in the Afghanistan war.

3,500 soldiers are under Colonel Haight's command in the region, but he says that with expanding duties, his men are stretched to their limits.

"You get what you pay for," Colonel Haight told 7 News reporter Jeff Cole.  "I have enough troops to clear and hold what I have, but I can't expand any farther into where there is more enemy influence."

We'll have more with Colonel David Haight in a full-length interview on Thursday morning, but the colonel may be waiting longer than a few days for reinforcements to arrive.

A decision on whether more troops will be on the way to the region is delayed after a third of Afghani President Hamid Karzai's election ballots were thrown out.

Heavy evidence of corruption in August's elections have forced the U.S. to hold off any decisions until a firm and legal government is established.

Karzai has yet to agree to a runoff election against his main opponent, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, which the U.S. is strongly supporting.