The United States plans to send between 20,000 and 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan by summer 2009. So I don't see an increase any higher at this point than 20 to 30,000," Mullen told reporters.
Update-links to the 20,000 number
http://www.indiaenews.com/pdf/163016.pdf
Earlier this year, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, requested at least 20,000 additional troops be sent there to fight the increasing violence by the resurgent Taliban forces in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
Washington, Dec 6 (DPA) The US military is preparing for a build-up of as many as 20,000 troops next year in Afghanistan to step up the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgency, a top US commander said Friday.
This is a good one
According to the data received by American journalists from anonymous sources in the US Department of Defense, the George Bush?s Administration is going to send additional 20,000 troops to Afghanistan instead of 15,000 as planned earlier.
The number bandied about has always been 20,000. I remember this shit. An article confirming that linked to in a previous post has been archived and money has to be paid to see it again. I don't think so.
Now it could be 30k. What's another 10,000 or so. Getting the masses ready for the upcoming and maybe even bigger and better prolonged conflict in Afghanistan.
I hope Obama lied like a rug and uses these troops to determine whether Bin Laden is dead or alive and if he is alive bring him to justice and get us the hell outta there.
And if he's dead get us the hell outta there too!
Chances are that article is elsewhere, One Fly. If you Google for one of the more unique phrases from what you've quoted, you might be able to find it again.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember various numbers bandied about, but don't remember at this point who did the bandying or when. The Soviets couldn't subdue Afghanistan even with 125,000 soldiers there. My guess is we couldn't, either.
I was talking to my son who just got back from Iraq and spent last year in Afghanistan. We just had this conversation and he said 30,000 is worthless and you know it is. 150,000 would be worthless as there is an endless supply of martyrs!
ReplyDeleteIt's updated you guys
ReplyDeleteOur initial foray into the country led to some limited success - partially due to some residual good will for the limited help we gave the fighting groups against the Russians.
ReplyDeleteThen we helped set up a puppet government and pulled out a bunch of troops.
The puppet government pissed off the fighting groups and lost the support of the country.
Now we're in the position of having to support the hated government with additional troops - just as the Russians did.
Can you spell "recipe for disaster"?