Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Afghan Surge Is Being Planned

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 31: An American soldier aims his gun at an unarmed Afghan man on his way to work near the site of a suicide bomb attack aimed at the US-led coalition on July 31, 2007 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The attack happened near a convoy of US troops outside the American base Camp Phoenix, wounding three American troops and around seven civilians.

Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan -- U.S. News And World Report

The U.S. commander there, in an exclusive interview, calls for a further buildup to counter the Taliban

The Pentagon will be sending 12,000 to 15,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, possibly as soon as the end of this year, with planning underway for a further force buildup in 2009.

A request by Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, for three U.S. brigades with support staff has been approved. "Now that means we just need to figure out a way to get them there," adds a senior defense official.

The troops are slated to arrive earlier than has been previously discussed, on the heels of the deadliest months for American forces in Afghanistan since the war began.

The first wave of soldiers will be a U.S. Army brigade from the 10th Mountain Division, according to a senior military official. This brigade is scheduled to ship out between November and January, while two other brigades are likely to arrive "sometime in the spring or summer of next year," the official adds.

Read more ....

My Comment: After today's bloodbath with French special soldiers, and with coordinated attacks against America's second largest base in the country .... a revaluation of Nato's presence in the country is being done with the U.S. taking the lead.

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