Gates Calls for More US Forces for Afghanistan
Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary, expressed a wish on July 16th to increase the US military presence in Afghanistan “sooner rather than later”.
"We are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later", Gates advised the press yesterday.
No firm decisions, he added, had been taken on the issue yet. However, also present at yesterday’s media event was the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s chairman, Michael Mullen, who said he anticipated being able to suggest, providing the security situation Iraq carries on improving, that more US forces be pulled from that country.
US Troops in Afghanistan, Iraq
At present, 36,000 US troops are deployed in Afghanistan, with 150,000 more in Iraq.
At Presidential level, George W. Bush has signalled that he would want additional US forces to be deployed to Afghanistan – sentiments shared by both of the two candidates vying to succeed him – Barack Obama and John McCain.
Security in Afghanistan
Gates’ statement is indicative of Washington’s concern over plummeting security in Afghanistan, with evidence of activity and growth among insurgent forces.
On July 13th, nine US soldiers were killed in an attack in Kunar Province – a death toll representing the greatest loss of life from a single incident involving the US military in Afghanistan since 2005.
Members of the Taliban were able to infringe a remote outpost – a site subsequently abandoned by the US on July 16th.
Security in Iraq
Speaking of the security situation in Iraq, Mullen described it as “...unquestionably and remarkably better”.
Comparing Afghanistan to Iraq, he added:"It's a tougher fight; it's a more complex fight; and they need more troops to have the long-term impact that we all want to have there.”
Source – Armed Forces International’s US Correspondent
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