Commanders Are Requesting More Soldiers In Afghanistan

A U.S. Marine, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, stands in front of house burned by Taliban fighters during heavy close range battle near the town of Garmsir in Helmand Province of Afghanistan May 19, 2008. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Shift In Forces To Afghanistan Less Than Requested
-- Yahoo News/AP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The modest shift in US forces to Afghanistan announced Tuesday by President George W. Bush falls short of his commanders' requests despite signs the seven year-old US-NATO project there is at risk.

While conditions have improved in Iraq, Bush admitted that things have not gone so well in Afghanistan, which is being shaken by an increasingly bloody insurgency fueled from safe havens in Pakistan.

"Afghanistan's success is critical to the security of America and our partners in the free world. And for all the good work we have done in that country, it is clear we must do even more," Bush said in a speech to the National Defense University.

His remedy: 4,500 more troops by early next year to bolster what Bush described as a "quiet surge" in US and NATO forces in Afghanistan over the past two years. Bush also called for doubling the size of the Afghan army in five years.

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My Comment: I mentioned this in an earlier post .... what is the plan for Afghanistan? What must we do to win. What are we lacking. What do we need now, tomorrow, next month, next year.

After fighting in Afghanistan for 7 years you would think we are making forward progress .... unfortunately we are not.