Remember those 12,000 troops Obama was sending to Afghanistan? It’s 17,000 now
Posted on February 18th, 2009 by bile
Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan's border, Barack Obama, David McKiernan, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Pakistan, Taliban, United States, Washington
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama, whose presidential ambitions were launched by his opposition to one war, moved Tuesday to expand the U.S. deployment in another.In his first such action as president, Obama ordered an additional 17,000 combat troops to Afghanistan. His administration cast the move as an interim step to battle the resurgent Taliban, secure Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, increase security for summer elections and stem the decline in a war that the United States now risks losing.
More forces may follow: Gen. David McKiernan, who commands U.S. and NATO troops there, has asked for a total of 30,000 additional troops. That would nearly double the U.S. force.
