.US readying troop buildup with Marines in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US military is preparing to send Marines among some 20,000 troops deploying to Afghanistan as part of a major build-up of forces there, a senior military officer said.
Anticipating a "very active winter," Major General Michael Tucker said Friday he was expecting "some Marines to come in" on top of a Marine battalion sent in November. Tucker would not quantify or set a timeline for the Marines' arrival.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters in a teleconference, the deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan recalled that some 20,000 additional American troops are scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan early next year. There are currently 32,000 US troops in the war-torn country.
A US Army combat brigade -- 3,500 to 4,000 troops -- is set to arrive in Afghanistan in January and commanders there have requested three additional combat brigades, on top of an aviation brigade and other support forces.
But despite winter settling in, the 70,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan are not expecting a slowdown in fighting in the months ahead.
Although winter is "usually a slower time... we are preparing ourselves to continue a very, very high OPTEMPO," or operations tempo, said Tucker, also deputy chief of staff for operations of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
US and NATO troops have also "taken on a much more aggressive approach" with "great results so far" to their counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of heroin.
An agreement for to battle heroin-trafficking operations was reached at a Budapest meeting of allied defense ministers for the first time earlier this year.
Some allies, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, have refused to participate in these operations, and ISAF only contributes those troops authorized by their respective governments.
Three Canadian soldiers were killed Friday in southern Kandahar province, bringing the total number of Canadian military service members killed in Afghanistan to 100 so far.
AFP
Anticipating a "very active winter," Major General Michael Tucker said Friday he was expecting "some Marines to come in" on top of a Marine battalion sent in November. Tucker would not quantify or set a timeline for the Marines' arrival.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters in a teleconference, the deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan recalled that some 20,000 additional American troops are scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan early next year. There are currently 32,000 US troops in the war-torn country.
A US Army combat brigade -- 3,500 to 4,000 troops -- is set to arrive in Afghanistan in January and commanders there have requested three additional combat brigades, on top of an aviation brigade and other support forces.
But despite winter settling in, the 70,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan are not expecting a slowdown in fighting in the months ahead.
Although winter is "usually a slower time... we are preparing ourselves to continue a very, very high OPTEMPO," or operations tempo, said Tucker, also deputy chief of staff for operations of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
US and NATO troops have also "taken on a much more aggressive approach" with "great results so far" to their counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of heroin.
An agreement for to battle heroin-trafficking operations was reached at a Budapest meeting of allied defense ministers for the first time earlier this year.
Some allies, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, have refused to participate in these operations, and ISAF only contributes those troops authorized by their respective governments.
Three Canadian soldiers were killed Friday in southern Kandahar province, bringing the total number of Canadian military service members killed in Afghanistan to 100 so far.
AFP
posted by madtom at 5:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home