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US wants 20,000 more troops to fight Taliban
British and American soldiers to shoulder brunt of surge's next phase
SUSANNAH IRELAND
British troops in Helmand province recently. Last month was the deadliest for UK forces since the Falklands war
The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan will ask for 20,000 more international troops as part of his new strategic plan for the alliance's war against a resurgent Taliban, The Independent has learned.
The demand from General Stanley McChrystal will almost certainly lead to more British soldiers being sent to the increasingly treacherous battlegrounds of Helmand, the Taliban heartland, despite growing opposition to the war.
General McChrystal, tasked with turning the tide in the battle against the insurgency on the ground, has given a presentation of his draft report to senior Afghan government figures in which he also proposes raising the size of the Afghan army and police force.
But the request for troop reinforcements will come at a time of intensifying public debate about the role of the Nato mission. Last month saw a record number of troop deaths and injuries in a conflict that has claimed more than 200 British soldiers since the start of the US-led invasion in 2001. British losses rose sharply last month with 22 deaths, making it the bloodiest month for UK forces since the Falklands war. August has been the deadliest month for American troops in the eight-year war. Most of the deaths have come from lethal roadside bombs that Western troops appear unable to combat effectively. For the first time, the American public now views the fight against the Taliban as unwinnable, according to the most recent opinion polls.
The conduct of the Afghan government has not helped the mood on either side of the Atlantic. While US, British and other foreign troops are dying in what is supposedly a mission to rid Afghanistan of al-Qa'ida militants and make the country safe for democracy, the incumbent President stands accused of forging alliances with brutal warlords and overseeing outright fraud in an attempt to "steal" the national elections, the results of which are still being counted.
Last week, General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, intervened against a backdrop of heightened debate about the UK's military role. He stressed that the objective of the war was "to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a sanctuary for al-Qa'ida and other extremists".
According to General McChrystal's draft plan, the number of Afghan troops would rise from 88,000 to 250,000, and the police force from 82,000 to 160,000 by 2012. These increases are higher than expected, with previous suggestions that the totals would be raised to 134,000 and 120,000 for the army and police respectively.
The US commander will, however, ask other Nato countries to send further reinforcements and will travel shortly to European capitals to discuss the issue. It is widely expected that the UK will send up to 1,500 more troops. At the same time, a force of 700 sent to help provide security for the Afghan elections last week on a temporary basis will become a permanent presence.
Following the withdrawal from Iraq, British military commanders, backed by the then Defence Secretary, John Hutton, had recommended in the spring that up to 2,500 extra troops could be sent to Afghanistan. However, following lobbying from the Treasury, Gordon Brown agreed to only the temporary deployment of 700. Criticism of the decision by senior officers has led, it is claimed, to Downing Street changing its stance.
General McChrystal, who replaced Gen David McKiernan as Nato chief in Afghanistan earlier this year, was originally due to produce his strategic report this month, but decided to wait until after the Afghan presidential election. According to Western and Afghan sources he is continuing to take soundings from various quarters and the finalised document is due out after it becomes clear whether or not a second round of voting is needed to decide the outcome of the poll.
As part of an initial troop surge overseen by General McChrystal, the US has already committed to boosting its forces from 31,000 to 68,000 this year. However Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan was told by commanders in Afghanistan last week that those numbers would not be enough for what is being viewed as defining months of fighting to come.
In his meeting with Afghan officials, General McChrystal is reported to have stated that the extra troops would be needed to enforce a new policy of maintaining a presence in the areas captured from insurgents. This will provide security for residents and allow reconstruction and development.
Other Nato nations have the option of focusing on the training of Afghan security forces. However, say American officials, failure by Nato countries to "step up to the plate" would mean the shortfall would be covered by the US.
Diplomatic sources have also revealed that plans are being drawn up to sign a "compact" between Afghanistan and the US which will reiterate Washington's commitment to the security of Afghanistan while the Afghan government pledges to combat corruption and reinforce governance. Unlike previous international agreements over Afghanistan, the compact will be bilateral, without any other governments being involved. The timing of the agreement is due to coincide with a visit by Mr Karzai to New York, if, as expected, he emerges the election winner.
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Comments
Kim Sengupta
UK Population is 61 million????
A time bomb that will never explode..
So the latest figures are a source of hope — showing that relatively fertile immigrants can, at least for a while, replenish the new generation of young people the country needs. In these circumstances, population fear-mongering is a kind of terrorism and the “population bomb” is a hoax. The real danger is that as people multiply, we will value them less. We should prize human life and try to continue to count it as precious, no matter how much of it we have.
Felipe Fernández-Armesto is the author of Civilisations and Food: A History
I thank you
Firozali A Mulla
Here's Harry's best line that sums up war in a nutshell: "if any man tells you he went over the top and he wasn't scared, he's a damn liar"
Thank you very much, Harry, I'm glad I can see what you see and I'm now better prepared to resist the next WAR.
I salute our armed forces serving abroad.
The United States of America is a paranoid, military society. Arguments about freedom, choice, capitalism are diversions.
Despite the overwhelming majority of Americans being shallow-thinking selfish bullies, there are many who are decent civilised people - it is to these the rest of the world needs to look for relief from the madness driving successive US Administrations.
Chronological List of US Air Warfare Campaigns Against 26 Countries Since World War II
Japan (1943-45): conventional, incendiary, nuclear
China (1945-49): conventional, biological; (1951-52): conventional, biological, chemical
Korea (1950-53): conventional, biological, chemical, incendiary
Guatemala (1954): conventional; (1960): conventional; (1967-69): conventional
Indonesia (1958): conventional
Cuba (1959-61): conventional, (biochemical attacks in other years)
Vietnam (1961-73): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster
Congo (1964): conventional
Peru (1965): conventional
Laos (1964-73): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster
Cambodia (1969-70): conventional, chemical, biological; (1975): conventional
El Salvador (1980-89): conventional
Nicaragua (1980-89): conventional
Grenada (1983): conventional
Lebanon (1983-4): conventional
Syria (1984): conventional
Libya (1986): conventional
Iran (1987): conventional
Panama (1989): conventional, chemical, biological
Iraq (1991-2002): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster, DU
Kuwait (1991): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster, DU
Somalia (1993): conventional
Bosnia (1993-95): conventional, cluster, DU
Sudan (1998): conventional; biological
Afghanistan (1998): conventional; (2001-02): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster, DU
Yugoslavia (1999): conventional, chemical, biological, cluster, DU
In addition there were other U.S. military engagements that did not involve air strikes. The Federation of American Scientists lists a total of 201 since 1945.
Obama is a smooth, acceptable face on the same despicable policies, nothing is changing except the spin surrounding such hypocritical acts, Obama is still under the thrall of Israel and the corporations and until the US can find the balls to throw those chains off, then nothing will change.
At the end of the day, innocent civilians are dying at the hands of American soldiers, renditions is still being carried out as per his edict last week, he has failed to initiate war crime actions against anyone in the last administration save the threat of a few lawyers, he is still breaking Posse Comitatus and he is still ignoring the damage done to the Constituition, just because he doesn't do it all with a "YeeHah, ride 'em cowboy" attititude doesn't mean he is ANY different, people are still dying at his order.
What's a few hundred British troops lives compared with a peaceful Afghanistan where all tribes live in glorious harmony and dance together in the streets?
Don't forget that if it wasn't for British troops regularly getting blown to pieces, those nasty Afghans would almost certainly come over here and do wicked things to us.
Carry on with then ultimate sacrifices, brave boys, you will not have died or become crippled in vain.
So, why should I care!
It has come to my attention that the country of Afghanistan is populated by people called 'Afghans'. If you Google them you will see that they have defeated every military force thrown against them including the huge, brutal and unaccountable Soviet army.
May I therefore suggest that any additional troops be drawn from the local population who after all are extremely handy and can go home for tea after duty thereby leading to large savings on accommodation. With their reputation for fierceness, familiarity with weapons and the terrain the six weeks training formally accorded to troops in the First and Second World Wars will merely be a formality.
On the other hand you may feel that the average Afghan can’t be bothered to get out of bed to save his own backyard, in which case you would be best advised to start packing now as it is unlikely that any amount of effort on your part will make diddly-squat difference in the long term.
Your sincerely,
A concerned citizen
Why dont you volunteer and go there to fight your winnable fight...
The Taliban are not nice, but they are not the worst regime in the world. After all, the US and UK funded the Taliban so they could overthrow the Soviet regime that was there earlier.
It was al Qada that attacked the US on 9-11 and they are now mostly in Pakistan, with funds coming from Saudi Arabia.
It is time for us to leave Afghanistan.
If the USA wants to launch a real war over its drug problems, let it do it on its own.
The War is a lie.
Go and research the many smoking guns that prove this.
The Military thermite explosive found in the rubble fo all 3 towers.
YES 3!!!
Building 7 a 53 storey building collapsed in 6 seconds and wasn't even hit by a plane..
There are hundreds of other anomolies....
The gold in the base of tower 2 that was moved, of the 19 hijackers named 9 turned up alive and well.
the FAKE AL CIA DA videos.
Until we get to the truth of 9/11 this argument is illogical.
Or we can believe the fairytale about the big bad boogeyman in his cave being behind it.
Oh yeah Santa came down my chimney last year too.
All you guys think you are so informed and you believe in a big bad boogeyman in a cave.
Its ridiculous. A ridiculous, sick joke.
They are laughing at the sheep who have bought the lie.
Watch THIS.....
http://www.loosechange911.com/
and this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nD7dbkk
When the hell are the journalists going to stop being complicit in this LIE?!!
FOr god's sake the info is there for anyone to research, the problem is people dont WANT to believe it, as it takes such a leap of faith.
One of the many people who knows about the FRAUD of 9/11 and also 7/7.
So depressing that our media are complicit in the cover up and continue to churn out their lies and propoganda.
All those journalists ask yourself Where is your integrity?
What did you do with your life?
Serve an evil cartel of "elite people" and their interests.
How very noble of you............
A tyrant the like of which the world has never seen, yet still people can't see it.........
Is this the "Cahnge" that Obama was talking about?
Slaughtering 1000's of men chasing a big bad boogeyman in a cave....
Yes we can Yes we can Yes we can, Obaaaaamaaaaaaaaa.
We are waiting. No? Nevertheless, this is intermission read on.
And USA in Vietnam?
President Richard Nixon considered Ted Kennedy such a threat that he tried to catch Kennedy cheating on his wife, even ordering aides to recruit Secret Service agents to spill secrets on the senator's behavior.
"Do you have anybody in the Secret Service that you can get to?" Nixon asked his aide John Ehrlichman in a stark series of Oval Office conversations about Kennedy before the 1972 election. "Yeah, yeah," Ehrlichman replied.
Policy Makers Seek to Learn From 1937's Stalled Comeback
"Nancy Reagan had it right: 'Just say no!' All one needs to do is check out of the electronic world for a month to see ..Evidence is mounting that the longest recession since World War II is losing its grip on the U.S. economy..
The latest hint is due Friday when the government releases data on consumer spending and income for July. Personal spending is expected to have posted a modest gain last month, driven higher by the popular Cash for Clunkers program. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect personal spending rose 0.2 percent in July after a 0.4 percent gain in June.
I am pleased that at the time where I see all boats leaking and few oars that Stan comes to say, ?We ought to keep our heads? Believe me, that sort of put anyone in a driving seat and think, Let me give myself but a one chance. I may still leak this ne too? The die-hard types.
Picture Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, Henry Ford, Estée Lauder, Bill Gates, Larry Page, etc. operating under the yoke of a nonprofit charter I dare not.
I think they had one thing in comment give the public something cheaper that otherwise others could not give. I think they also had the common sense of love to many. These days we do not have that. We have a fight within the lungs, one saying I need more oxygen as I am near the heart and the other I am far I need more. Too much of the self-competition that kills or lulls the self.
I thank you
Firozali A Mulla
SCUMBAGS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2E_HP97
Let those loud-mouthed, war-movie makers, who lay down their lives on celluloid, do their patriotic duty and fight their own wars for real.
The Brits need to reclaim their identity and independence from the moronic corporate American mob who are sent to kill for corporate profits.
America has the gall to promote its self Pied-Piper of war--and through NATO demands other European nations to die for American hegemony. Quite a cunning plan--and if they are as stupid as their leaders, they'll get away with it.
"Let those loud-mouthed, war-movie makers, who lay down their lives on celluloid, do their patriotic duty and fight their own wars for real."
If they did they'd be in the IDF.
In the past Britain, whilst empire building, managed to conquer most of the world, but they were stopped at Afghanistan. Now its back for more of the same with their new superpower buddy.
Obviously, in 2002, the Russians warned Bush. They must be laughing their heads off in the Kremlin, right about now.
VIETNAM
THIS IS THE TOPS HONEST WHO CARES? DO YOU> DOES BROWN> DOES OBAMA. IT IS the mom and dad who miss the young ones.
WE are from Darwin He was right.
The Next Evolution in Economics: Rethinking Growth
Stan Stalnaker
I am pleased that at the time where I see all boats leaking and few oars that Stan comes to say, ?We ought to keep our heads? Believe me, that sort of put anyone in a driving seat and think, Let me give myself but a one chance. I may still leak this one too? The die-hard types.
I thank you
Firozali A Mulla
liberal future it shouldn't be hard to recruit from within Afghanistan.
Another point, would be to say the more diverse our society becomes
the less likelyhood of finding an army. If we needed the masses of the second
world war, now.......
How many would go ?