(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - February 10, 2009: U.S. reinforcements to Afghanistan are awaiting a green light from the White House, which 
wants to get a better grip on its strategy before sending more troops, U.S. defense officials said Feb. 9.
A deployment plan was submitted last week to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but he has not yet signed off on it, said a senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We believed two weeks ago that we would get something pretty quick," the official said. "Now we are waiting."
"We've got everything packaged and presented to the decision makers. We've made our recommendation," the official said.
But the official said the new administration "has signaled it wants to look at the (strategy) reviews under way."
The new U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, arrived Feb. 9 in Islamabad at the start of his first trip to the region.
U.S. combat brigades must undergo at least two to three months of specialized training for Afghanistan before being deployed.
The Pentagon plans to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next year to 18 months, nearly doubling the size of its force there.
Currently there are 37,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, on top of another 70,000 international troops, serving in either a NATO-led force or a U.S.-led coalition.
Gates said at the end of January that the United States would send three brigades, each numbering between 3,500 and 4,000 troops, by mid-summer.
A Pentagon spokesman would not say deployment orders have been delayed, but acknowledged that the White House might decide to button down its strategy review before giving the go ahead, something the Pentagon appeared to rule out a week ago.
"I don't subscribe to the characterization of delay or postponement," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, recalling that Gates had never set a deadline for announcing the troop deployments.
"There is certainly a fairly unanimous understanding that some level of force increase is necessary in Afghanistan. How much, when, all those things are being looked at," he said.
"Is it conceivable that you could have some announcements about deployment orders before the strategy review is totally completed? Sure. Is it possible we might have to wait until the strategy review is completed? Sure."
Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters a week ago that the United States would begin deploying troop reinforcements to Afghanistan before the new strategy had been completed because of the worsening security situation.
Asked why additional troops might be deployed before a final strategy is ready, Morrell said improving security was a vital first step to any new approach in Afghanistan.
"But no matter what your overall strategy may be, we need to reverse the trend that we are seeing in some parts of the country, in terms of a deteriorating security situation.
"That is accepted as the foundation on whatever we - whatever the president decides to develop in terms of a further strategy."
wants to get a better grip on its strategy before sending more troops, U.S. defense officials said Feb. 9.
A deployment plan was submitted last week to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but he has not yet signed off on it, said a senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We believed two weeks ago that we would get something pretty quick," the official said. "Now we are waiting."
"We've got everything packaged and presented to the decision makers. We've made our recommendation," the official said.
But the official said the new administration "has signaled it wants to look at the (strategy) reviews under way."
The new U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, arrived Feb. 9 in Islamabad at the start of his first trip to the region.
U.S. combat brigades must undergo at least two to three months of specialized training for Afghanistan before being deployed.
The Pentagon plans to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next year to 18 months, nearly doubling the size of its force there.
Currently there are 37,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, on top of another 70,000 international troops, serving in either a NATO-led force or a U.S.-led coalition.
Gates said at the end of January that the United States would send three brigades, each numbering between 3,500 and 4,000 troops, by mid-summer.
A Pentagon spokesman would not say deployment orders have been delayed, but acknowledged that the White House might decide to button down its strategy review before giving the go ahead, something the Pentagon appeared to rule out a week ago.
"I don't subscribe to the characterization of delay or postponement," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, recalling that Gates had never set a deadline for announcing the troop deployments.
"There is certainly a fairly unanimous understanding that some level of force increase is necessary in Afghanistan. How much, when, all those things are being looked at," he said.
"Is it conceivable that you could have some announcements about deployment orders before the strategy review is totally completed? Sure. Is it possible we might have to wait until the strategy review is completed? Sure."
Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters a week ago that the United States would begin deploying troop reinforcements to Afghanistan before the new strategy had been completed because of the worsening security situation.
Asked why additional troops might be deployed before a final strategy is ready, Morrell said improving security was a vital first step to any new approach in Afghanistan.
"But no matter what your overall strategy may be, we need to reverse the trend that we are seeing in some parts of the country, in terms of a deteriorating security situation.
"That is accepted as the foundation on whatever we - whatever the president decides to develop in terms of a further strategy."
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