By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. government review of strategy for the war in Afghanistan has been delayed and will likely not be completed until after next month's presidential election, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Alarmed by rising levels of insurgent violence in Afghanistan, the Bush administration began a review in September of all aspects of its policies in Afghanistan and suggested results could come by the end of this month.

But Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the review, coordinated by the National Security Council, was taking longer than originally expected.

"This is a major issue. This conflict is becoming increasingly difficult. And we want to make sure that we fashion the best strategy to hand off to a succeeding administration," he said.

The U.S. military's Joint Staff is also reviewing strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, as is Gen. David Petraeus, the former U.S. commander in Iraq who soon takes charge of U.S. forces across the Middle East and into Central and South Asia.

Ultimately it will be up to the next U.S. president to take stock of the reviews and decide on an overall policy.

The U.S. presidential election takes place on Nov. 4 and the war in Afghanistan is one of the major foreign policy issues in the contest between Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

"That just has taken longer than, I think, originally anticipated," Morrell said of the Bush administration's review. "This will likely not be something that is finalized until after the election."

Violence in Afghanistan is at its highest level since U.S.-led forces toppled hard-line Taliban Islamist rulers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States for harboring al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban and other insurgent groups are particularly strong in the south and east of Afghanistan and enjoy safe havens across the border in Pakistan, officials say.

The Bush administration has announced plans to send an extra Army combat brigade -- some 4,000 soldiers -- to eastern Afghanistan in January to bolster the NATO-led force fighting alongside Afghan troops against insurgents.

The United States has about 32,000 troops in Afghanistan. Approximately 13,000 of them are in the NATO-led force of more than 50,000 troops.

Experts say it will take more than just troop increases to stabilize Afghanistan. Better governance, economic development and new efforts to tackle corruption and the opium trade are all widely seen as necessary.

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