Army soldiers Kevin Yeatman, left, and Sgt. James Horris smoke following a firefight with Taliban insurgents on Oct. 28 in the Korengal Valley in eastern AfghanistanJohn Moore / Getty (Photo taken from Time Magazine)
Will More US Troops Really Help in Afghanistan?
-- Time Magazine
-- Time Magazine
Many U.S. military officers believe the war in Afghanistan was needlessly interrupted by that unpleasantness in Iraq that has cost more than 4,000 Americans their lives. And now that Iraq seems to be settling down, commanders on the ground in Afghanistan are calling for the reinforcements they say are needed if they are to prevail in the stubborn fight now underway there.
The steady climb in the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan shows just how neglected the war has been — and how security conditions there have deteriorated. There were barely 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan two years ago, but today there are 32,000, the most since the Afghan war began. As Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters increasingly infiltrated eastern Afghanistan from sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan, U.S. commanders months ago asked for 10,000 more troops. In recent weeks, the reinforcement request climbed to 15,000 and now stands at about 20,000, Pentagon officials say.
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My Comment: Afghanistan will be the number #1 foreign policy issue for the next U.S. President. The problem of Afghanistan will be how many troops will be necessary to pacify the region. If history is any indication .... the answer is ..... we will never have enough troops to pacify the country.