Skip to main content

Gates Does Not Expect to Raise Afghanistan Troop Commitment This Year





By Al Pessin
The Pentagon
16 July 2009

Defense Secretary Robert Gates (File)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates (File)
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he does not expect to send many additional troops to Afghanistan this year, beyond the 68,000 already approved.

Secretary Gates told a gathering of soldiers, some of whom may soon deploy to Afghanistan, that the U.S. troop commitment to the country likely will not increase in the near future. But he said he could not make a definitive statement until he sees the 60-day review by General Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

"We'll see what General McChrystal recommends. But I think there will not be a significant increase in troop levels in Afghanistan beyond the 68,000, at least probably through the end of the year. Maybe some increase, but not a lot," he said.







The United States is in the process of nearly doubling its troop presence in Afghanistan as part of the new strategy announced by President Barack Obama in March. The strategy calls for clearing more areas of the country of Taliban and al-Qaida influence, and enabling the Afghan government to begin to provide security, economic development and social services.

Afghanistan and Pakistan
The current focus by some of the first additional U.S. troops to arrive is an offensive in southern Helmand Province, which officials say is succeeding in driving out Taliban forces and establishing a long-term presence by U.S., coalition and Afghan forces.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a Taliban commander said he had captured one American soldier in Paktia Province, in the east, and threatened to kill him if U.S. military operations continue. U.S. forces have been distributing leaflets in the region encouraging local residents to help in the search for the soldier.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ASEAN pushes for resumption of N. Korea nuke talks

ASEAN and friends: Foreign Ministers from left, Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, and China's Yang Jiechi, hold hands during a group photo at the opening session of ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP/Dita Alangkara) Associated Press, Nusa Dua | Thu, 07/21/2011 2:19 PM Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations are calling for a speedy resumption of talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia had been negotiating since 2003 to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle the program in exchange for aid and other concessions. The North pulled out of the talks about two years ago after being censured for launching a long-range rocket. It has indicated a willingness in recent months to return to the table. The 10-member Association of Southeast As...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dangdut divorcees to reinvigorate scene

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 07/21/2011 9:47 PM JAKARTA: Wanting to reinvigorate dangdut, Anang Hermansyah has added some color to the genre by forming Tiga Kembang (Three Flowers), a trio of divorced dangdut singers. He wants dangdut to become the music of Indonesia all over again, he said. Cici Paramida, Ikke Nurjanah and Kirstina were Anang’s picks for the dangdut group. But, wanting such huge names, how did he make this dangdut supergroup happen? “I was hanging out with my friend Irvan Nat. Irvan said, ‘this song Goyang Sayang would be great if it was sung by those three, can this be arranged?’ Then Irvan Nat called each of them,” Anang said as reported by kapanlagi.com. But the song was not written for Tiga Kembang but for Krisdayanti and Siti. Because the latter project ended up not happening, the song was given to Tiga Kembang. Anang said Goyang Sayang was filled with nuance, the rhythm of the song upbeat and fresh. “I witnessed the development of dangdut and how it beca...
Post a Comment
Read more