Obama Agrees To Major US Force Increase In Afghanistan: Report / Obama Again Vows To Send More US Force To Afghanistan

Obama Agrees To Major US Force Increase In Afghanistan: Report / Obama Again Vows To Send More US Force To Afghanistan (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - January 13, 2009: President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan to gain time to review the conflict, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The new deployments would nearly double the current US force in Afghanistan of 32,000 troops. According to the Post, which cites unnamed senior Obama team members and Bush administration officials, the goal is not for an Iraq-like "surge" but rather to gain time for a fresh look at US goals and develop a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan. Obama, who takes office on January 20, has vowed to boost development in Afghanistan and shift the focus of the "war on terror" from Baghdad to Kabul. A US troop increase in Afghanistan was anticipated. "We have no strategic plan. We never had one," an unnamed senior US military commander told the Post, describing the Afghan strategy under President George W. Bush. According to the Post, the outlines of the new strategy will not likely emerge before early April, when Afghanistan and Pakistan will top the agenda at a NATO summit in France. Obama hopes to present the Europeans a comprehensive plan, then ask them for increased military and financial contributions. "What they've got to say is 'Okay, if you love Obama, show us how much'," another retired senior military officer told the Post. There are currently between 60,000 and 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, about three-quarters of them under NATO command, helping the government of President Hamid Karzai battle a mounting Taliban-led insurgency.