Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wire: Request for More US Troops in Afghanistan Expected

Off the Wire

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2009 -- Newswire services this evening reported that the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is expected to ask the Obama administration for additional troops and equipment, according to a senior U.S. military official.

CNN said the request will be for troops and equipment for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as more assets to deal with roadside bombs and explosives, said the official, who declined to be identified because Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request has not been formally transmitted to the Pentagon.

The request could be made after McChrystal completes a "troop-to-task review" to determine whether there are enough U.S. troops in Afghanistan to carry out President Barack Obama's war plan at an acceptable level of risk.

CNN said the review could also lead to a request for additional troops for either combat or training of Afghan forces, but the official emphasized McChrystal has not made a decision on that.

The official said McChrystal is likely to submit his recommendations to Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a series of options.

The troop-to-task review will follow McChrystal's assessment of the war, due 60 days after he took command in mid-June.

Recently, President Barack Obama said "victory" in Afghanistan country isn't necessarily the United States' goal.

In a factually incorrect comparison, Obama told ABC News, "I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur."

General MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender from representatives of the the Empire of Japan who signed the 'Japanese Instrument of Surrender' in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. Emperor Hirohito was never there.

(Report from newswire sources.)

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