4-star: Far more troops needed in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

4-star: Far more troops needed in Afghanistan
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 17, 2008 7:05:09 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Even after an extra Army brigade joins the fight against the insurgency here in January, three times that many reinforcements will be needed shortly thereafter, the highest-ranking U.S. general here said Tuesday.

Gen. David McKiernan, commander of NATO-led international forces in Afghanistan, told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the brigade arriving in January is an urgent requirement based on an assessment that fighting in eastern Afghanistan is tougher than believed six months ago.

“There are an additional three brigade combat teams” that have been validated by the Pentagon as a requirement, McKiernan said. He would not say exactly how many extra soldiers that entails, but said that it was more than 10,000 — beyond the roughly 3,700 in reinforcements that are scheduled to arrive in January.

There currently are about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and about 146,000 in Iraq.

Gates arrived in the Afghan capital Tuesday evening after presiding at a ceremony in Baghdad where Gen. Ray Odierno took over for Gen. David Petraeus as the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Gates was meeting over dinner in Kabul with McKiernan and was to hold talks with senior Afghan officials on Wednesday.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_afghanistan_mckiernan_091608/%2e