. Military Space News .
Up to 30,000 new US troops in Afghanistan by mid-2009: Mullen

Admiral Mike Mullen

Three dead in attack on NATO convoy in Pakistan: officials
Suspected Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan opened fire on an oil tanker used to supply fuel to foreign forces in Afghanistan, killing three people, local officials said Saturday. Two drivers and one assistant were killed in the incident late Friday in the Khyber tribal district, located on the main supply route into Afghanistan, where NATO and US forces are battling a Taliban insurgency, the officials said. Local administration official Rahat Gul blamed the attack -- the latest in a series of increasingly sophisticated strikes on NATO and US supply vehicles -- on Taliban militants. The empty tanker was burned in the incident. On Saturday in the same tribal district, a bomb exploded near a NATO supply convoy but the blast did not cause any damage or casualties, a security official said. "The bomb was meant to target the convoy, but luckily, no damage was done," the official said. A woman was killed and her two children wounded earlier this week in a similar attack on a NATO convoy in the Khyber district. Militants have staged spectacular attacks in recent weeks on NATO supply depots outside the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, torching hundreds of vehicles and containers destined for foreign troops in Afghanistan. The NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan are hugely dependent on Pakistan for their supplies and equipment, as about 80 percent of the gear is transported through the neighbouring country. Both forces have however downplayed the recent attacks, saying they have had no impact and insisting supply lines are secure.
by Staff Writers
Kabul (AFP) Dec 20, 2008
The United States plans to send between 20,000 and 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan by next summer, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said here Saturday.

General David McKiernan, the US commander in Afghanistan, has asked for more than 20,000 extra US soldiers to counter a rise in insurgent violence, seven years after US forces first invaded the country to oust the Taliban from power.

But the potential deployment of 30,000 extra troops discussed by Mullen -- the highest-ranking US military officer -- would nearly double the US military presence in Afghanistan, which currently stands at 31,000.

"The troops that were asked for in joint discussions with General McKiernan is what we're going to need for the foreseeable future. So I don't see an increase any higher at this point than 20 to 30,000," Mullen told reporters.

Mullen said he hoped the extra troops -- including four combat brigades, an aviation brigade and other support forces -- could be deployed by mid-2009.

"We're looking to get them here in the spring, but certainly by the beginning of summer at the latest," he said.

Mullen said he could not give the "exact number" of soldiers that would be sent, but said 20,000-30,000 represented "the window of the overall increase where we are right now."

But he cautioned against thinking that a massive influx of US forces would automatically bring peace to the war-ravaged country.

"It isn't going to make a difference after those troops get here, if we haven't made progress on the development side and on the government side," he said.

Some 70,000 foreign troops are already in Afghanistan, fighting an insurgency that has grown increasingly violent since the US-led coalition ousted the hardline Taliban regime in 2001.

This year has been the bloodiest for international forces here since the Taliban fell, with nearly 290 soldiers killed. About 1,000 Afghan troops and police, as well as more than 2,000 civilians, have also been killed in 2008.

When asked about the possibility of talks with the insurgents, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar to come to the negotiating table, Mullen remained cautious.

"In counter-insurgency, you always get to a point when you provide alternatives for individuals who are insurgents to change, those who are reconcilable," he said.

"It's my belief we need to do that from a position of strength."

Outgoing US President George W. Bush, who made a surprise farewell visit to Afghanistan on Monday, warned that restoring peace to the country would take time.

"This is going to be a long struggle," he told a joint news conference with Karzai. "Ideological struggles take time."

US president-elect Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw forces from Iraq and redeploy them to Afghanistan, as part of his plan to tackle militancy and instability in south and central Asia.

On Friday, a US military official said Defence Secretary Robert Gates had already ordered the deployment of a combat aviation brigade with 2,800 troops to Afghanistan sometime after January.

"This is the beginning of the sourcing of the increased requirement that he (McKiernan) has asked for," the official said.

But in an interview aired Wednesday, Gates indicated there would be limits to the US military build-up because of fears that the larger the presence, the greater the risk Afghans will turn against it as an occupation force.

"I think that we can meet the requirements of the commander in Afghanistan, our commander, General McKiernan, for the additional four brigade combat teams and a combat aviation team, without tipping the balance," Gates said on PBS.

"But ... after those forces are provided, I think we should think long and hard before we make any further significant troop contributions in Afghanistan."

Foreign forces in Afghanistan
Nearly 70,000 foreign troops are stationed in Afghanistan, about three-quarters of them under NATO command, to help the government of President Hamid Karzai tackle a mounting Taliban-led insurgency.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan was placed under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in August 2003.

A total of 38 countries contribute troops or other forms of support to ISAF. The force now numbers about 52,000 troops. Most of them are deployed in the south and east of the country, where Taliban militants are most active.

A separate US-led contingent of around 16,000 troops, most of them American, is participating in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Based mainly in the east and along the border with Pakistan, they are not under NATO command.

The following are the main national contributions to ISAF as of December 1:

- United States: 19,450

- Britain: 8,300

- Germany: 3,600

- France: 2,785

- Canada: 2,750

- Italy: 2,350

- The Netherlands: 1,770

- Poland: 1,130

- Australia: 1,090

- Turkey: 860

- Spain: 780

- Romania: 740

- Denmark: 700

The other participating states, listed in the order of their troop contributions as of December 1, are:

Bulgaria, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, New Zealand, Albania, Macedonia, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Portugal, Latvia, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Iceland, Ireland, Austria and Georgia.

Since 2001, a total of more than 1,030 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan, including 629 Americans, 134 Britons and 103 Canadians.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
News From Across The Stans



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Thousands rally against US, NATO in NW Pakistan
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Dec 18, 2008
Thousands of protesters rallied in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, demanding that Islamabad end its logistical support for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.







  • EU fears nuisance factor of Czech President Klaus
  • US, Ukraine risk irking Russia with strategic accord
  • NATO, Russia to resume high-level talks Friday: official
  • Hu Jintao pledges open China amid 30-year celebration

  • Swords and Shields: Son of Satan threat
  • Rice expects NKorea to agree eventually on nuclear verification
  • Britain sells stake in nuclear warhead factory
  • Russia to deploy new missiles by 2020: military

  • Six killed in suspected US missile strike in Pakistan: official
  • US Navy Tests Seven Raytheon Standard Missile-2 Block IIIAs During Trials
  • NLOS-LS Team Completes Second Guided Test Flight Of PAM
  • Iran tests medium-range missile in naval war games

  • BMD Focus: Hope for START Part Two
  • BMD Focus: Hope for START Part One
  • Russia wants to test Obama on missile defense: Rood
  • BMD Watch: MKV-L in free-flight hover test

  • Britain's environment minister concerned by Heathrow plan
  • Climate protesters cause chaos at British airport
  • Thompson Files: Protect U.S. aerospace
  • NASA studies pilot cognition

  • Russia mulls unprecedented Israel drones purchase
  • Raven UAS Certified By Italian Ministry Of Defense
  • Successful Autoland Of The F-16 Fighting Falcon
  • Navy Targets Unmanned Aircraft

  • Iraq MPs to vote on fate of non-US foreign forces Monday
  • Analysis: U.S. troops maneuver SOFA maze
  • British forces to begin rapid Iraq pullout by May 31: Brown
  • Analysis: U.S. generals embarrass Germany

  • Thompson Files: Save the F-22
  • Dutch ministry favours Joint Strike Fighter
  • Amnesty warns against 'potentially lethal' Tasers
  • Thermal Curtains Will Offer Protection To Aircrews

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement