U.S. Troop Buildup Planned For Afghanistan
Heavy Spring Fighting Expected As Taliban Stages A Comeback
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Troop Buildup In Afghanistan
The Pentagon will be sending more soldiers to Afghanistan to combat a resurgent Taliban. David Martin explains why U.S. officials are growing frustrated.
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U.S. soldiers conduct a military exercise outside the former compound of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, which is now the base of U.S. special forces, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2007. (AP)
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General Benjamin Freakley, commander of the 10th U.S Mountain Division, at the U.S. military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, Jan. 22, 2007. Over 23,000 U.S soldiers are based in Afghanistan. (AP)
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Afghan children look out from a makeshift window to see the site where a suicide bomber targeting a NATO convoy detonated himself in a car on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2007. (AP)
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Afghan girls carry empty water containers on the outskirts of Jalalabad City, Afghanistan, Jan. 24, 2007. (AP)
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A herd of sheep passes by a forward operating military base in Sparwan Ghar, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2007, as the lights of a military vehicle approach in the distance. (AP)
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The manhunt on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
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Afghanistan
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"We're just so excited that we survived our first year," said Jennifer McIver, wife of soldier Nicholas McIver. "And I'm sure we'll have many more to go, but it's nice to know that there was an end of it. There was an end."
But these families had not yet been told.
A brigade of the division — about 3,500 soldiers — is having its one year tour of duty extended, and some of these soldiers will have to go back to Afghanistan.
The Taliban is staging a comeback and more troops are needed for what is expected to be a spring of heavy fighting.
Meanwhile, NATO's top commander in Afghanistan said Thursday that troops battling the resurgent Taliban will shortly be reinforced with another combat brigade.
Gen. David Richards said the brigade will consist of members of different nations participating in NATO's International Security Assistance Force. A brigade is typically 1,500 to 3,500 soldiers; Richards did not specify how many additional troops were expected.
It was unclear whether the increase announced by Richardson included the soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division. The U.S. military is a major contributor to the International Security Assistance Force.
But more troops in Afghanistan will not solve what U.S. officials say is the larger problem: the ability of the Taliban and al Qaeda to operate in the tribal areas of Pakistan, recruiting, training and planning cross- border operations.
"The attacks at this time of the year are up about 200 percent," says Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, commander of the Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan.
Former CIA analyst Lisa Curtis says there is a growing frustration on Washington over the failure of Pakistan's President Musharraf to crack down on the tribal areas.
"If his own troops are incapable of dealing with this problem, then we need to see how we can help because it's too important of a problem to not address head on," Curtis tells Martin.
Last week a CIA drone and Pakistani helicopter gunships launched a missile strike on one suspected training camp, but every such attack triggers backlash against Musharraf.
One intelligence official tells CBS News that Osama bin Laden and other leaders of al Qaeda believed to be hiding in the Pakistani border area are now safer than they were a year ago.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 146 CommentsIf any troops who have been in Afghanistan all this time are reading this, thanks for what you are doing. and thanks for what you have done. I'm sorry you're not in the popular war that gets in the news. We're very glad you're there. I mean absolutely no offense to the people in Iraq, but I have always felt that Afghanistan is and has been so important.
Word must have gotten out that Osama-Been-Forgotten had actually been forgotten. How many years has it taken to remember why we went over there in the first place?
Shame on King George!
Remember Iran-Contra Republican Cocaine?
True. If Afghanistan had 100,000 troops instead of 24,000, the Taliban could probably be controlled. The Taliban are not nearly as strong as the Iraqi insurgents, so a troop "surge" in Afghanistan might actually work. But then again, Afghanistan has no oil and few rebuilding contracts for Haliburton, so it will continue to be the poor redheaded stepchild of Bush.
***? Why do we need to help? Why can't we get out of countries we don't belong in and stop wasting billions of tax dollars on these third world sh*tholes? Last time I looked around we had issues here at home we need to address and spend tax dollars on like the homeless, unemployment, securing out borders and health care just to name a few. We are NOT the world's police.
Get that worthless POS we call our president out of office before he makes Bin Laden's goal of bankrupting America a reality and kills 3000 more soldiers in the process.
I more expect our government and the defense industry to find an infinite number of ways to spend our tax dollars on ways to justify their incomes...
How about some facts instead.
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.
HMM?
These are people. My husbands presents are wrapped, and his party is planned. My 9 month old has been watching videos of daddy. Remember that.
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction. "[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. And now he has continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ...
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003
HMM....THAT John Kerry?
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.
You don't say TEDDY?
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998.
Very Interesting...I am detecting a theme here.
There was this policy that for every month past 365 days a soldier spends overseas they receive $1000. Tonight we were told that policy has been suspended because of "budget restrictions".
My husband makes a couple dollars an hour.
My husband's platoon BUILDS- yes, BUILDS, their own buildings and their own equipment overseas.
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.
And we know that Billy wouldn't lie....cause he's a democrat. Their ALWAYS right, and they don't lie!
Remember the IRS collected last year the most in taxes EVER - even with the tax cuts!
Posted by badaxmofo at 08:59 PM : Jan 24, 2007
Spending increased far more than collected taxes, the national debt has doubled in the last 6 years, nearly $= Trillion in annual interest on the debt has to come out of those collected taxes EACH year.
You are bragging about cutting taxes in time of war and borrowing to finance both the war and the tax cuts, while the nation becomes $4 trillion dollars poorer.
Staff Reporter of the Sun
January 26, 2006
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
The Iraqi general, Georges Sada, makes the charges in a new book, "Saddam's Secrets," released this week. He detailed the transfers in an interview yesterday with The New York Sun.
No way...I get on this site all the time and EVERYBODY knows that Bush lied. He lied because he's a republican and that's what they do.
Sadly....that IS the way most of the people that post on this site feel.
Sorry to bother you guys with QUOTES and ACTUAL FACTS
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.
Because you've done so.
Neither side lied. They acted on the intelligence that was there at the time. They erred on the side of caution (AS THEY SHOULD HAVE) given the climate of our country after 9/11. To call BUSH a liar and forget what the democrats said at the same time is just laughable and yet I see it everyday in this website.
they dont get a free pass, i hold our entire nation responsible for the wars.
theres an andy rooney quote if were going to quote... "Americans are puzzled over why so many people in the world hate us. We seem so nice to ourselves. They do hate us though. We know that and we're trying to protect ourselves with more weapons.
We have to do it I suppose but it might be better if we figured out how to behave as a nation in a way that wouldn't make so many people in the world want to kill us."
im a bit of a pacifist perhaps
I don't think that you can make blanket statements like this. Anymore than you can say BUSH lied while absolving people who voted for the war that were members of another political party. Plenty of democrats voted for war. It's not an easy war to win, but if we can get the government of Iraq up and running and continue to train their military adn police force then we will be able to pull out our troops gradually and the "insurgents" may not be filled with as much rage if there is actaully something of a foundation for a productive society there.
Judging by your comments, have you been 'toe popping' some of that 500% bumper opium crop coming out of Afghan now that YOUR hero Bush is THE War/Drug Lord?
Bet that you are feelin' a little sleepy now that 'freedom and democracy' are on the march there, bet you want a 'power nap' 'bout now, huh?
The nuke armed Islamic Pakistanis (who are harboring Taliban) and probably giving safe haven to Bin laden are/look 'very, very afraid".
What did your mother do to you?
warn, warn, warn. you think you know but you have no idea what any of it is about or what is going on.
I am impressed by your comments. It is hard on both sides - the wife at home and the husband fighting for all of us. I will say - the reason so many foreign countries hate us (this is just my opinion) - they really don't hate America. They hate us complaining so much about what they deem as luxuries. They would love to come over here and enjoy how much American's have. We take it all for granted though - they just hate the griping. might not be much - but it is my 2 cents worth.
i dont think its a feeling you can understand. i handled a high risk pregnancy, a move, the bills, the housework, the baby raising, the up all nights... and i handled missing him. the crying all night, the feeling lonely.
you cant imagine how excited i was, and the emotions i felt about the reunion i was expecting in a few days.
and today, i turn on the news, and i find out that he is going to be in combat for 4 more months.
its just shocking to me that they can do this to real people. without notice. i worry about how it will affect my husband.
i also think people who come and complain about the war in terms of taxes or the next election need to come spend a week in my shoes.
take the yellow ribbon you spent $2 on when you filled up your gas tank with $40 of gas off your car. thats not doing your civic duty.
i hate those things.
I just don't like that guy, he just should stick with his golfing i think.
thats my 2 cents. recycle :)
I just don't like that guy, he just should stick with his golfing i think.
If they really hate us because they are poor and we are rich then what is wrong with that guy OSAMA BEEN-FORGOTTEN.Do you think he is poor?What about 15 out of those 19 hijackers on 9/11 who were from the richest families of SAUDI ARABIA,had no Credit card or college Debt,were educated enough to learn flying and crashing planes into our buildings.
If you look at our foreing policies,you can easily figure out why they hate us so much that they can spend money,time and even their lives to kill us.Don't you know that we take OIL in cheaper prices from the ARABS and in return support and protect their those enemies who were brought into Palestine from different European countries after WWII to occupy the land of those Palestinians by force who had nothing to do with the CRIMES comited by HITLER.
The main reason for all the HATRED,TERRORISM and 9/11 against United States is the PSYCHOSIS called CHRISTIANITY according to which the sole purpose of the creation of GOD-NEGLECTED AMERICANS is to SERVE,BEING SLAVES and SERVANTS of the GOD-CHOSEN ENEMIES of THE GOD'S ONLY SON.As long as we don't kick GOD out of our POLITICS,we'll keep on suffering and the GOD who was sleeping on 9/11 will keep on sleeping as we are not born in the RACE or FAMILY CHOSEN by him.
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