Plans Underway To Increase Afghanistan Strength

The Defense Department wants to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by two brigade combat teams and 4,000 trainers by next year. The additional strength would augment the present force of 35,000 U.S. troops with combat operations, in response to increasing violence there. Specific plans for sending more troops to Afghanistan have yet to be determined, and would hinge upon how permanent the increasing stability in Iraq will be. Some units in Iraq could shift to Afghanistan at some point, but only if security gains in Iraq permit it. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed his interest in raising U.S. presence in Afghanistan, but said, “No decisions have been made. No recommendations have been made.”