Gates: 3 Brigades To Afghanistan By Summer

Defense Chief Says Pentagon Finalizing Plans For "Course Correction," Troop Shifting Under Obama

(CBS/AP)  The Pentagon is moving to get three of the four combat brigades requested by commanders into Afghanistan by summer, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday as he traveled here to meet with military leaders.

In his most specific comments to date about how soon he will meet the call for up to 20,000 more troops in Afghanistan, Gates said he will not have to cut troop levels further in Iraq to free up at least two of those three brigades for Afghan duty.

At the same time, Gates said a key "course correction" in the Afghanistan war for the administration of President-elect Barack Obama will be to build the Afghan army and better cooperate with Kabul on security operations.

"I think we're going to be in this struggle for quite a long time, and I think we have to make sure we've got some of the basics right," Gates told CBS Radio News on the plane. "Making sure that the Afghans are out in front is a key element."

"I think there's a concern on the part of some of the Afghans that we sort of tell them what we're going to do, instead of taking proposals to them and getting their input and then working out with them what we're going to do, so it's a real partnership," Gates told reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan. "That's an important aspect of this, that I think we need a course correction."

The day before Gates arrived, poor communication and a case of mistaken identity on the battlefield left six Afghan police dead at the hands of American Special Forces operating in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. troops killed the police and wounded 13 more early Wednesday after the police fired on the Americans during an operation against an insurgent commander, officials said.

Gates was scheduled to meet with Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and to gather with U.S. troops in Kandahar.

The meetings come as senior military leaders and the White House are pulling together a broad new military strategy for Afghanistan, one that would shift the focus from the waning fight in Iraq to the escalating Afghan fight.

Gates said he expects the troop levels in Iraq to remain fairly steady through the provincial elections early next year and "probably for some period of time after that."

While there is wide agreement that the military emphasis will now shift to Afghanistan, long regarded as the secondary priority behind Iraq, there is still debate on how best to do it.

Gates would not detail any of the findings that have surfaced in the strategy reviews. But the push to increase the size of the Afghan army is reflected in at least one of the ongoing studies.

The White House, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the incoming Obama administration and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, all are conducting their own reviews. Obama has said getting more troops to Afghanistan is a priority.

Gates said he has no details on the expected deployments to Afghanistan next year, adding that he has not approved any orders for specific units. He said the Joint Chiefs may have identified the units, but he's not aware of those decisions.

He added that he does not know when he will be able to send the fourth requested brigade.

Gates and other U.S. officials have endorsed efforts to pour four combat brigades and thousands of support troops into Afghanistan to stem the spike in violence and tamp down the resurgence of the Taliban.

Officials already had announced that one unit would go to Afghanistan in January and that they would try to meet the rest of the troop requirements as soon as possible. But military leaders have resisted disclosing which units or how quickly they would go, saying much depends on how quickly troop levels can be cut in Iraq. A brigade is about 3,500 troops.

The U.S. is working to meet deadlines in its agreement with Baghdad that require combat troops to leave the cities by June and be out of the country in three years. As planned, the number of combat brigades in Iraq is dropping to 14 early next year, and Gates said that level will enable him to get a second brigade to Afghanistan by summer.

[roach9703]

The Afghanistan problem can only be solved with negotiations, However, the central government must have some assets to bring to the table. The U.S. military may be able to help. However, it is up to Kabul to solve their country''s problems. The goal, it seem to me, is have a presence to facilitate negotiations, and also to provide options for dealing with situations that threaten the United States.
We must avoid local disputes. The balance of local and central government must be determined by the Afghans. The population must understand that as long as they do not attack U.S. forces, there will be peace. Further, the Afghans must believe that we are not an occupation force and that this is temporary, no 100 years war in Afghanistan.
The soldiers I talked with feel that just being an American is a source danger to them. Therefore, there much diplomatic work to be done!

[DDouville]

troops out of these countries, and minimized out military support of Israel? The Jews are strong, have state of the art weaponry, they even designed their own fighter jet. They have nuclear weapons. If the survival of that country comes on the line, we step in. Why must we pursue a policy of no compromise fight to the death war. I really feel strongly compromise and negotiation is possible with these people. Get our troops off their soil. Quit angering the entire Arab world by supplying the Israelis with weaponry(in case you didn''t know, that is what brought Sept. 11 to us), they already have Apache Attack Helicopters, F-15, F-16, what more could they possibly need to defend themselves? That''s my take on the whole situation.

[DDouville]

One more note, we can''t even police afghanistan. A million troops wouldn''t be enough, as that country is a nightmare for combat operations. I think we should pull out of there, after negotiations with the Taliban and their word not to operate any kind of training camps or be even remotely connected to any kind of attack against the US. Keep an eye on em, and if they step out of line, bring in the B-52''s. We can''t stop fate, some foreign countries are going to have governments, laws, and traditions we don''t agree with. And if it was possible to police all of Afghanistan, problems will only pop up in other hot spot countries, Somalia, Chad, Iraq, Iran, Chechnya etc... I don''t understand how our leadership fails to understand this, we can''t win this war, and are pushing these people into a corner, and motivating them to stage another spectacular yet unthinkable attack against us. That is what we are leading up to here my friends. Peace, not war. Hope, not despair. Love, not hate. Light, not darkness. Peace.

[DDouville]

One more note, we can''t even police afghanistan. A million troops wouldn''t be enough, as that country is a nightmare for combat operations. I think we should pull out of there, after negotiations with the Taliban and their word not to operate any kind of training camps or be even remotely connected to any kind of attack against the US. Keep an eye on em, and if they step out of line, bring in the B-52''s. We can''t stop fate, some foreign countries are going to have governments, laws, and traditions we don''t agree with. And if it was possible to police all of Afghanistan, problems will only pop up in other hot spot countries, Somalia, Chad, Iraq, Iran, Chechnya etc... I don''t understand how our leadership fails to understand this, we can''t win this war, and are pushing these people into a corner, and motivating them to stage another spectacular yet unthinkable attack against us. That is what we are leading up to here my friends. Peace, not war. Hope, not despair. Love, not hate. Light, not darkness. Peace.

[DDouville]

The real problem here is the enemy is driven by his religious beliefs, and will never give up, therefore, we will never win this war on terror.
There is no way we will be like the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan, as it''s a well known fact they destroyed entire villages, and used poison gas, and they never compensated the Afghans civilians for their human and material losses, which fueled the insurgency that enventually caused them to retreat. The Soviets were losing up to 50% of their aircraft to CIA supplied stinger missiles at Kabul airport at one point. That is why the entire population of that country has not turned against us. We pay for collateral damage, and do not indiscriminately kill civilians or raze whole towns. To sum it up, I think Peace is the only real solution, we can''t police every muslim country on earth to prevent terror against us, we don''t have the manpower. Futhermore, in trying to wage this war, we end up making far more enemy combatants than we kill. A losing proposition. Peace and negotiation is the only solution. How about an act of peace instead of war. Compromise is better than a fight to the death. Peace to all mankind. Thanks from Dan D

[inketolstoy]

The people who use move.on talking points like war for oil, can come back to the world of reality now, the election is over.

Posted by notblue at 09:32 AM : Dec 11, 2008

It is a lot easier to create stupidity than it is to remove it.

[earache4]

Did Shrub provide transportation too?
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Posted by earache4

Who is Shrub?

Posted by BailThisOut at 10:41 AM

Sorry, I meant to say Shrubya....

[questionnews]

Get us the heck out of there!!!! NOW. This is the second tragic losing occupation we are involved in. All we are doing is killing women and children and will end up just like the Soviets did there. Or else end up with the third Vietnam-type quagmire. Shame on U.S.!!!

Posted by noloyalisti at 02:46 PM : Dec 11, 2008

Sorry to say, but by all appearances & statements Obama will be escalating the war in Afghanistan.

[noloyalisti]

Stop the Bush Crime Family Christian Fascist terror campaign!!!!!!!!!!!

[noloyalisti]

Get us the heck out of there!!!! NOW. This is the second tragic losing occupation we are involved in. All we are doing is killing women and children and will end up just like the Soviets did there. Or else end up with the third Vietnam-type quagmire. Shame on U.S.!!!