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| U.S. expects 18,000 more soldiers in Afghanistan by spring |
| News - Global |
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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon said Tuesday it expected about 18,000 of the 30,000 additional U.S. troops authorized by President Barack Obama for Afghanistan to arrive by late spring, laying the ground for a major push to reverse Taliban gains. White House officials initially said the 30,000 troops should be in the Asian nation by the end of June. Pentagon officials said the deployment was on track and that 92% of the new forces would be in place by August. At a congressional hearing on the Pentagon's budget priorities, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Taliban insurgency has moved well beyond southern strongholds and now has a growing influence in most of Afghanistan's provinces. "We have already moved nearly 4,500 troops to Afghanistan and expect that about 18,000 of the president's December 1st commitment will be there by late spring," Adm. Mullen said of Mr. Obama's decision to deploy 30,000 additional U.S. troops on top of the nearly 70,000 already there. The remainder of the 30,000 troops will arrive "as rapidly as possible over the summer and early fall, making a major contribution to reversing Taliban momentum in 2010," Adm. Mullen said. Speaking at the same hearing, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said troop levels are expected to reach 98,000 by September 30, 2010. A key focus of the Obama administration's new strategy in Afghanistan is to speed up the training of Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security, allowing U.S. forces to start withdrawing by a target date of July 2011. U.S. military commanders on the ground complain that this goal is being hampered by a shortage of trainers, particularly from European allies. "We all agree it is unacceptable. It is a top priority there," said Mullen when pressed about the shortage of trainers. Adm. Mullen said he had attended a meeting last week with other NATO military chiefs and the issue of trainers would be discussed again later this month. Mr. Gates said the U.S. general in charge of training had reported a shortfall of about 1,700 trainers. "Our hope is that with the additional commitments of somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 additional forces by our NATO and other partners, that out of that number we can more than fill the requirement for trainers," Mr. Gates said. National Post 2 Feb, 2010 |