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In the continuing saga of returning to step one against the fight against terror, Afghanistan will be the “new-old” playground for U.S. troops… again.
Just published is confirmation that up to three more combat brigades will be ready to deploy to Afghanistan next spring:
Up to three more combat brigades could be available to go to Afghanistan beginning next spring, in answer to repeated calls from commanders for more troops, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.
Gates offered the likely troop buildup next spring, but cautioned that the next president will have to weigh how large a U.S. force should be sent to Afghanistan, given that the population does not readily welcome foreign forces there.
“I think we need to think about how heavy a military footprint the United States ought to have in Afghanistan,” said Gates, or “are we better off channeling resources into building and expanding the size of the Afghan national army as quickly as possible.”
The military shortfall in Afghanistan has been a common complaint from commanders. While the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has grown from fewer than 21,000 two years ago to more than 31,000 today, the senior U.S. general there said last week that he needs at least 10,000 more ground troops, beyond the 3,700 Army Soldiers due early next year.
The requirements include more helicopters, combat troops, trainers and other support forces. But with about 151,000 forces committed in Iraq, the U.S. has not had the available troops to send to Afghanistan. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has often noted that in Afghanistan “we do what we can, in Iraq we do what we must.”
Let me count the Afghan ways via our blog posts here on PM.
Call it a mini-link dump if you will:
- September 9th: Planned shift of troops from Iraq to Afghanistan
- September 17th: Who’s killing the troops in Afghanistan: Militants or Insurgents?
- September 17th: Paving the way to chase Afghan bad guys into Pakistan.
- August 7th: Camel spider brought home from Afghanistan. (I couldn’t help myself with this one.)
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