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Obama Quietly Deploying 13,000 More US Troops to Afghanistan

Tuesday 13 October 2009

by: Ewen MacAskill  |  The Guardian UK

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US soldiers at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. (Photo: The U.S. Army / flickr)

Move is separate from Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal's request to increase troop levels.

    President Barack Obama is quietly deploying an extra 13,000 troops to Afghanistan, an unannounced move that is separate from a request by the US commander in the country for even more reinforcements.

    The extra 13,000 is part of a gradual shift in priority since Obama became president away from Iraq to Afghanistan.

    The White House and the Pentagon both announced earlier this year that the number of US troops in Afghanistan was to be raised by 21,000, bringing the total at present to 62,000, with the aim of 68,000 by the end of the year.

    To read more about the controversy surrounding the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan, click here.

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Comments

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If Bush had done this it

 Tue, 10/13/2009 - 22:36 — Midwest Tom (not verified)
If Bush had done this it would have been on NPR for days, but no coverage under Obama. Don't you love our open and unbiased press.

I have been reserving

 Tue, 10/13/2009 - 23:08 — peacebunny (not verified)
I have been reserving judgment on Obama's Afghanistan policy, despite my grave concerns that we are going in the wrong direction. I figured he deserved a chance to explain his strategy (though every day, more of our precious men and women fighting in Afghanistan continue to be in harm's way.) This is a very disturbing revelation. Weren't we promised transparency in the Obama administration? I am very disappointed and very motivated to begin vocal opposition to the continued escalation of this war.

So many wars, so few troops.

 Tue, 10/13/2009 - 23:43 — EDGEOFNOWHERE (not verified)
So many wars, so few troops. What will the recent Nobel laureate do? Perhaps everyone would forget all about the continuing messes in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention Pakistan) if we just went ahead and bombed Iran.

The 13,000 troops constitute

 Thu, 10/15/2009 - 14:49 — Anonymous (not verified)
The 13,000 troops constitute the final part of the last deployment President George W. Bush had signed off on. I got that from the recent questioning of a credible military spokesman.

We have been between a rock

 Fri, 10/16/2009 - 06:31 — Blue Collar (not verified)

We have been between a rock and a hard place for what, some 60 years or more. 43 had the chance to dislodge us but chose to push us deeper into the crevice of corporate and military control every single moment of his 8 year appointment. President Obama can't just snap his fingers and magically fix everything over night. It looks as if he is human. Go figure. The contrast between 43 and 44 is quite stunning if you look. You know there are no liberals or conservatives, just radicals who choose to believe only in their own ego (an unreal construction.) I request from them to consider more respect for others.