A while back U.S. officials decided they were going to need another 10,000 troops in Afghanistan...now, the latest report shows that those same officials, listening to the calls of need of on the ground commanders, are thinking that number of troops needed is going to be 20,000. Here's some of the details from the report coming out of the Journal Inquirer:
Now, I don't question this change in need one bit. Part of the reason is that instead of the other NATO countries coming up with an additional 5,000 to 7,500 additional troops, those countries only raised about an additional 2,000 troops. The other part of the reason is the fact that the Taliban's base of fighters has grown immensely.
The biggest issue in all of this is this: if Barack Obama becomes President, there is NO WAY that 20,000 additional troops will be sent in. I think he would send a token number in... somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 troops and this will lead to some serious setbacks.
Don't misunderstand me here - it is my certain belief that Barack Obama's long term goal is to withdraw from Afghanistan. You will see him set this all up like the Democrats tried to set Iraq up as a failure. Obama will show some token support but all the time knowing that the situation will become more dire. And he will simply sit back and let it happen and withdraw simply because it can't be won OR he will say it has to be negotiated. It is going to be a disaster in Afghanistan if Tuesday goes to Obama.
Military planners now think they may need to send more than double the number of extra troops initially believed needed to help fight the war in Afghanistan.The buildup in the increasingly violent campaign could amount to more than 20,000 troops rather than the originally planned 10,000, two senior defense officials said today on condition of anonymity because no new figures have been approved.
The new calculation reflects growing requests from field commanders in recent weeks for aviation units, engineers and other skills to support the fighting units, the officials said.
Now, I don't question this change in need one bit. Part of the reason is that instead of the other NATO countries coming up with an additional 5,000 to 7,500 additional troops, those countries only raised about an additional 2,000 troops. The other part of the reason is the fact that the Taliban's base of fighters has grown immensely.
The biggest issue in all of this is this: if Barack Obama becomes President, there is NO WAY that 20,000 additional troops will be sent in. I think he would send a token number in... somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 troops and this will lead to some serious setbacks.
Don't misunderstand me here - it is my certain belief that Barack Obama's long term goal is to withdraw from Afghanistan. You will see him set this all up like the Democrats tried to set Iraq up as a failure. Obama will show some token support but all the time knowing that the situation will become more dire. And he will simply sit back and let it happen and withdraw simply because it can't be won OR he will say it has to be negotiated. It is going to be a disaster in Afghanistan if Tuesday goes to Obama.
Afghanistan troop buildup could more than double
WASHINGTON — Military planners now think they may need to send more than double the number of extra troops initially believed needed to help fight the war in Afghanistan.The buildup in the increasingly violent campaign could amount to more than 20,000 troops rather than the originally planned 10,000, two senior defense officials said today on condition of anonymity because no new figures have been approved.
The new calculation reflects growing requests from field commanders in recent weeks for aviation units, engineers and other skills to support the fighting units, the officials said.Officials had been saying for months that they needed more people to train Afghan security forces and two more combat brigades — a total of some 10,000 people.
Commanders later increased that to the trainers and three combat brigades — or some 15,000, when extra support is included.Now, military planners calculate that the number may have to grow yet again by another 5,000 to 10,000 support troops. They would be helicopter units, intelligence teams, engineers to build more bases, medical teams and others to support the fight in the undeveloped nation, where forces have to work around rugged terrain and a lack of infrastructure.
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