THE TENSION: Pentagon Announces Afghanistan Force Deployment

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Feb 17, 2009 -- The following news release made available Friday afternoon by the U.S. Defense Department is the text of a statement announcing an upcoming Afghanistan force deployment:

The Department of Defense announced today the deployment of approximately 4,000 additional service members to Afghanistan, pursuant to the President's approval of the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategic review. These forces will be assigned to the ongoing training and mentoring mission in Afghanistan. Approximately 3,300 soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C., along with approximately 700 additional training and support personnel will deploy to Afghanistan in the spring and through the summer of 2009, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The United States remains committed to disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaeda and its extremist allies. The deployment of this additional unit will aid in the training and development of the Afghan National Security Forces.