Bush: More Troops To Afghanistan By 2009

President Reiterates Promise To Bolster Force On Increasingly Bloody Battlefield

(CBS/AP)  Grappling with a record death toll in an overshadowed war, President Bush promised Wednesday to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan by year's end. He conceded that June was a "tough month" in the nearly 7-year-old war.

In fact, it was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the conflict began.

"One reason why there have been more deaths is because our troops are taking the fight to a tough enemy, an enemy who doesn't like our presence there because they don't like the idea of America denying safe haven (to terrorists)," Mr. Bush told reporters Wednesday. "Of course there's going to be resistance."

Mr. Bush said it was a tough month too for the Taliban fighters. The former ruling Islamic militants have rebounded with deadly force since their overthrow 6½ years ago by U.S.-led troops.

More U.S. and NATO troops have died in the past two months in Afghanistan than in Iraq, a place with triple the number of U.S. and allied forces.

In June, 28 Americans died in Afghanistan. That was the highest monthly total of the war, which began in October 2001.

For the full U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan the death toll was 46, also the highest of the war.

Afghan troops and national police have also suffered increasing casualties in recent months. Most recently, a police chief said Thursday a roadside blast had killed five Afghan soldiers in central Afghanistan.

Provincial police Chief Mustapha Khan said the blast hit an Afghan army convoy late Wednesday in Logar province. Gunfire brought down a U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in the same province on Wednesday, but no U.S. personnel were hurt.

Mr. Bush confronted the grim direction of the Afghanistan conflict during a sun-splashed appearance in the Rose Garden of the White House. The president used the event to promote his agenda for a coming meeting in Japan of the Group of Eight industrialized countries, then spoke about Iran, climate change and gasoline prices in a short session with reporters.

The Pentagon predicts the pace of attacks in Afghanistan by a resurgent Taliban is likely to rise this year, despite U.S.-led efforts to capture major leaders.

"We're going to increase troops by 2009," Mr. Bush said, without offering details of exactly when or how many.

It amounted to a reiteration by Mr. Bush of a promised buildup of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He said coalition forces have doubled in size over two years and pledged that the twin strategy of fighting extremists and supporting Afghanistan's civil development "is going to work."

The U.S. Defense Department's top military officer said Wednesday that if security continues to improve in Iraq he is hopeful he will begin to have troops available to shift to Afghanistan by the end of this year. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more troops are essential to stem the violence.

"The Taliban and their supporters have, without question, grown more effective and more aggressive in recent weeks, and as the casualty figures clearly demonstrate," Mullen said. He added that "there's no easy solution, and there will be no quick fix."

In terms of public attention, the war in Afghanistan has been obscured by the far costlier and deadlier one in Iraq.

It is a matter of consensus, however, within the Bush administration and between the United States and major allies, that there are far too few troops in Afghanistan to fight the accelerating Taliban and to train Afghan soldiers and police.

Overall, roughly 32,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, including 14,000 with NATO forces and 18,000 conducting training and counterinsurgency.

That is the largest U.S. presence since the war began.

Afghanistan, not Iraq, was the original target after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The United States led the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001 for providing haven to terrorists, including al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The latest assessment from the Pentagon, released last week, describes a dual terror threat in Afghanistan: the Taliban in the south, and "a more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east, comprising groups ranging from al Qaeda and Afghan warlords to Pakistani militants.

Military officials say security has deteriorated in large part because of the lawless, tribal border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mr. Bush said he will seek to remind his peers at the G-8 summit that the battle against violent extremists goes on.

"The temptation is to kind of say, well, maybe this isn't really a war, maybe this is just a bunch of disgruntled folks that occasionally come and hurt us," Mr. Bush said. "You know, that's not the way I feel about it. This is an ongoing, constant struggle to defend our own security."

The other G-8 nations are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia. The summit will be the last of Mr. Bush's presidency.

[reptilian96]

FOX NEWS discovered the presence of a massive spy ring inside the United States run by the government of Israel. This seems a harsh gratitude from a nation which obtains 10% of its annual budget from the American taxpayer, $3+ billion a year. Over the years, American taxpayers have been required to send Israel more than four times what the US spent to go to the moon.

[samsel3]

And the extermination continues............

More than a year and half before 911 the CIA Special Activities Division was conducting operations in Afghanistan, trying to topple the Taliban regime for the Caspian Sea Oil & Gas Pipelines...........We now call such activities terror.



February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ". The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".

[guadalcanal3]

kuei12...If you think gas prices are bad now ..wait another 3 or 4 years...Gas prices have little to do with who is occupying the White House...and...oh yes...doesn''t the Congress have a Democratic majority?..if your going to blame the President...shouldn''t you also blame Congress?...After all it was Congress who voted to go to war in Iraq...Giving the President the "green light"...remember? (or maybe you don''t want to.)

[deacon20081]

How is that Pipe Line going there George?

[samsel3]

And the extermination continues............

More than a year and half before 911 the CIA Special Activities Division was conducting operations in Afghanistan, trying to topple the Taliban regime for the Caspian Sea Oil & Gas Pipelines...........We now call such activities terror.



February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ". The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''''''''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".

[noloyalisti]

Does anyone even listen to this pathetic chicken hawk neo con loser? Impeach and imprison is what I say. What a disgrace is he and everyone who supports his sorry butt.

[arlt1627]

Why would anybody want to eliminate Saddam as he was the only thing keeping Iran in check

Posted by rharrin1 at 08:39 AM : Jul 03, 2008

Very true. And he served us by scaring those crafty Saudis into catering to American economic needs (ie oil) for our protection in the region. Eliminating Saddam was something that has clearly hurt the US.

[leftyintexas]

Thank God! Conservative Republicans were not in charge during WWII. Can you imagine where we would be if we had fought Germany & Japan using the strategies and tactics of the Bushie administration? What an imcompetent bunch!

Posted by scoleridge at 02:10 PM : Jul 03, 2008

Not to mention all the mentally challenged who voted for him.....

[kuei12]

"we can get back to the REAL WAR started by 9/11 and going after the Taliban and Al Quaeda"

You still don''t get it. Our government attaked us with the help of Bin Laden. Please view ALL the informative videos on 911. Not just what fox news broadcasts.
Here''s a video to start with:
http://www.ae911truth.org/store.php

The best 90 minutes you will ever spend on yourself and your country. It''s all over the net.
Make your decision based on ALL the available info. Not just the censored info your government wants you to see.

[scoleridge-2009]

Thank God! Conservative Republicans were not in charge during WWII. Can you imagine where we would be if we had fought Germany & Japan using the strategies and tactics of the Bushie administration? What an imcompetent bunch!