March 24, 2009 7:52 PM
- Text
Afghanistan: More Of A Wave Than A Surge
4863545The White House is gearing up to reveal its Afghan policy in an announcement expected by the end of the week.
There won't be any new name for the White House's new Afghan strategy – one official here at the Pentagon told me they tried but it really isn't anything new – "just more of the same of what we're already doing."
American troop presence could go as high as 70,000 – that's 10,000 more than currently planned. That means more U.S. troops training Afghan troops, more patrols to provide more daily security for ordinary Afghans, and more social and civil outreach by NATO and the U.S. State Department.
They'll help do everything from providing more patrols to more training of Afghan troops. The premise is to turn as much of the security over to Afghans as quickly as possible – by training more of them. The White House hopes to double the size of the Afghan army and police, to 400,000 strong.
For more details, one official recommended reading Charlie Rose's interview with Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week, and listening to the Afghan references in any of Gates' recent speeches. The quote of the day all around: it's "all already out there."
When the announcement is made, expect to see a combined front of the Commander in Chief, National Security Council chief Jim Jones, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mullen and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
There won't be any new name for the White House's new Afghan strategy – one official here at the Pentagon told me they tried but it really isn't anything new – "just more of the same of what we're already doing."
American troop presence could go as high as 70,000 – that's 10,000 more than currently planned. That means more U.S. troops training Afghan troops, more patrols to provide more daily security for ordinary Afghans, and more social and civil outreach by NATO and the U.S. State Department.
They'll help do everything from providing more patrols to more training of Afghan troops. The premise is to turn as much of the security over to Afghans as quickly as possible – by training more of them. The White House hopes to double the size of the Afghan army and police, to 400,000 strong.
For more details, one official recommended reading Charlie Rose's interview with Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week, and listening to the Afghan references in any of Gates' recent speeches. The quote of the day all around: it's "all already out there."
When the announcement is made, expect to see a combined front of the Commander in Chief, National Security Council chief Jim Jones, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mullen and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Watch An Interview With Mike Mullen Below
6 Comments +
Popular Now in World
- Italy hit by another deadly earthquake
- NATO: Al Qaeda #2 in Afghanistan killed
- Vatican: Pope unafraid of widening leaks probe
- Human foot mailed to Canadian political office
- Suu Kyi, in Myanmar since 1988, starts world tour
- U.S., nations expel Syrian diplomats over massacre
- Iran relaunches Russian-made submarine
- Emergency landing after Air Canada engine failure
- Extradition ruling for WikiLeaks' Assange soon
- U.K. high court backs Assange extradition
- S.African president opens case against artist
- Ex-aide to U.K. leader arrested over hacking
- Teen rape video circulates online in S. Africa
- Charles Taylor gets 50 years for war crimes
- U.N.: "Entire families" shot in homes in Syria
- Workers among 16 dead in latest big Italian quake
