U.S. Marines conduct a local security patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 12, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Pete ThibodeauFrom Yahoo News/AFP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, in remarks made public Saturday, that it would be politically difficult for the United States to further increase its military presence in Afghanistan.
"It would be a hard sell, there's no question about it," Gates told CNN television.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led by NATO, is made up of just over 58,000 soldiers from nearly 40 nations, with nearly half from the US military.
An 8,000-strong brigade will soon head to Afghanistan as part of more than 21,000 reinforcements approved by President Barack Obama to bolster the US mission there.
The additional troops will join 40,000 US soldiers stationed in the country, most of which serve with ISAF.
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My Comment: Secretary Gates was very cryptic on why the soldiers that were requested by the commanders in the field are not coming. The key phrase is the following:
"it would be politically difficult for the United States to further increase its military presence in Afghanistan"
What this means is that the White House has nixed any possibility of more troops to Afghanistan. This is completely contrary to how President Bush prosecuted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What the commanders wanted .... is what the commanders got.
Sigh .... those days are gone, and most likely our soldiers who are in the field are going to be in a long drawn out war in Afghanistan with too few resources and and too few men to make a difference. I hope that I am wrong .... but I doubt it.
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