U.S. Marines of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment ride a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, to Now Zad, Afghanistan, on Nov. 17, 2008. The Marines, based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., are deployed to Afghanistan in support of the NATO mission. DoD photo by Cpl. Cory A. Tepfenhart, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)From MSNBC:
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said on Friday it was still on track to send three additional combat units to Afghanistan by midsummer, despite a debate within the Obama administration about the timing of the deployment.
President Barack Obama had been widely expected to approve as early as this week a plan to deploy up to 17,000 combat troops as part of an anticipated buildup that could nearly double the U.S. force in Afghanistan to about 60,000 troops over the next 12 to 18 months.
The additional forces are needed to combat an intensifying insurgency by the Taliban and other militant groups.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has spoken publicly about sending two additional combat units by the end of spring and a third by midsummer.
"That is still the goal," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
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My Comment: These forces are just a drop in the bucket for what is really necessary. But let us hope and pray that they will be able to reverse the trend of the Taliban slowly taking over the entire country.
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