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Afghanistan became President Obama's war on Tuesday, when he ordered two more U.S. combat brigades into the fight. He will send 17,000 combat troops to join the 36,000-strong U.S. force already in the theater. The fact that the units now ordered to Afghanistan had originally been slated for Iraq underscores the new Administration's shift in priorities.The reinforcements include about 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., who should be in Afghanistan by late spring, and a 4,000-strong Army brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash., which should arrive in the summer. Those units will be joined by about 5,000 more Army "enablers" to provide logistical support.The White House announcement took subtle shots at the priorities of the Bush Administration, stressing that the request from U.S. commanders in Afghanistan for the additional troops was "months old". President Obama's written statement explained, "This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires."If Army General David McKiernan, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, gets his way, the total increase over the coming year will be 30,000. McKiernan has said he needs to beef up U.S. forces in Afghanistan to roll back a growing Taliban insurgency, especially before the presidential election currently slated for August. Indeed, U.S. officials say they have only 40% of the American officers needed to train the Afghan army to take over security duties at some point in the future. But sending any additional troops to Afghanistan would require reducing U.S. troop levels in Iraq, and Obama has ordered a review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan before committing to further reinforcements. Defense Secretary Robert Gates explained last week that the units ordered to Afghanistan on Tuesday had to be given their marching orders before the Administration's strategy review could be completed because of the pressing need for reinforcements....View this article on Time.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090218/us_time/08599188024600
As in the days of Noah....
