Jul 08
3
ABC News |
US outgunned in Afghanistan
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 2 hours ago
Mullen said military commanders are looking at the prospects for sending additional soldiers to Afghanistan in 2009, but only if conditions in Iraq continue ...
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The nation's top military officer said Wednesday that more U.S. soldiers are needed in Afghanistan to tamp down an increasingly violent insurgency, but that the Pentagon does not have sufficient forces to send because they are committed to the war in Iraq. Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said insurgent Taliban and extremist forces in Afghanistan have become "a very complex problem," one that is tied to the extensive drug trade, a faltering economy and the porous border with Pakistan. Violence in Afghanistan has increased markedly in recent weeks, with June the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers since the war began in 2001. "I don't have troops I can reach for, brigades I can reach to send into Afghanistan until I have a reduced requirement in Iraq," Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon. "Afghanistan has been and remains an economy-of-force campaign, which by definition means we need more forces there." Mullen has raised similar concerns over the past several months, but his comments Wednesday were more pointed and came amid rising concern at the Pentagon over the situation in Afghanistan, where insurgents have regrouped in the south and east. Mullen and President Bush also addressed the possibility of a conflict with Iran in separate appearances Wednesday, with both saying they favor diplomacy over the use of military force. Asked directly about the possibility strike against Iran, Bush, in an appearance in the White House Rose Garden, said: "I have made it very clear to all parties that the first option ought to be solve this problem diplomatically." But he refused to rule out the use of force in the standoff over Iran's suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons.Bush also promised to send more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan by the end of the year. He acknowledged the increasing violence there, saying that "we're going to increase troops by 2009," but did not offer details. Mullen said military commanders are looking at the prospects for sending additional soldiers to Afghanistan in 2009, but only if conditions in Iraq continue to improve over the coming months, which would allow some forces to be withdrawn and reallocated. The war in Iraq has occupied as many as 20 military brigades during the troop buildup over the past year, reducing violence there substantially but convincing many officers and experts that a quick drawdown in Iraq would jeopardize gains.
