The State Department hopes to dispatch 51 civilians to Afghanistan while other government agencies also plan to send people there to boost its political and economic development, department spokesman Robert Wood said.

"No final decision has been made on numbers, but this is what we're ... considering doing," Wood told reporters.

The Washington Post reported that under the soon-to-be-complete review on Afghan policy hundreds of civilians will be sent to the central Asian country, and that Obama will announce the move next week.

"As President Obama has said, we need to ramp up our engagement in Afghanistan. And one of the things that we're looking at, at this moment, is trying to increase the number of civilians," Wood said.

Obama has ordered 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan and a top-to-bottom review of his war policy, shifting the focus from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fight against Islamic militants.

There are nearly 70,000 foreign troops under NATO and US command in Afghanistan fighting a Taliban insurgency alongside Afghan forces.

On the civilian front, the State Department said it will send both career foreign service officers for a year-long tour of duty and recruit temporary employees to serve in one-year, non-career positions.

The civilians will work in Kabul or in provincial reconstruction teams outside the capital where troops provide cover as the experts build basic health, educational and other services and train officials in good governance.

"There will be an increase in personnel from around the US government who will be deployed to the country," Wood said, referring to the review under consideration.

The Post said the "civilian surge" was proposed by Obama's top national security advisers and based on recommendations from senior military, diplomatic and intelligence officials and intensive consultations with NATO and United Nations partners.

Officials quoted by the newspaper said the proposed strategy "includes a more narrowly focused concentration on security, governance and local development in Afghanistan."

But it said it will retain emphasis on promoting the rule of law and on fighting drug trafficking -- proceeds from which are reported to fuel the Taliban insurgency.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News