Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 26, 2008

The U.S. hopes to double the size of the Afghan national army within the next two years. Above, Afghan recruits shortly before graduation from the Kabul Military Training Center. Yochi Dreazen/The Wall Street Journal

A U.S. Strategy Unfolds at Kabul's Training Center
-- Wall Street Journal

Officials Seek to Expand Afghan Army as Crucial Step in Securing Nation, but Low Literacy Levels, High Attrition Pose Hurdles

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The sprawling Kabul Military Training Center here was a Soviet base and then a Taliban one. Today it's at the heart of an ambitious American plan to double the size of the Afghan army within the next two years, an initiative that could determine the course of the war here.

The Pentagon is planning to deploy tens of thousands of U.S. reinforcements to Afghanistan early next year to counter the Taliban and attempt to halt a sharp slide in the security situation. The troops will push the American military presence here to at least 51,000, the highest level since the start of the war in 2001.

Even with the additional troops, U.S. commanders acknowledge their forces are still too few to secure a country bigger and more populous than Iraq. They hope that expanding the Afghan national army to 134,000 soldiers from 68,000 soldiers will help fill the gap.

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More News On Afghanistan

British soldier, four road workers killed in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AFP
Suicide bomber hits foreign forces in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Suicide bomb wounds foreign troops in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AFP
US coalition says it kills 11 Taliban in operation -- AP
Kandahar roadside bomb cell disrupted -- Press TV
Islamic Militants Threaten to Blow Up Schools -- Times Online
NATO Commanders in Afghanistan Wary of Antidrug Effort -- Christian Science Monitor
Promoting Peace in Afghanistan With a Lighter Touch -- Christian Science Monitor
Christmas for troops in Afghanistan: turkey patties, grape juice and calls home -- Yahoo News/McClatchy
An Afghan Aid Disconnect -- Washington Post (Commentary)