Obama OKs significant troop increase in Afghanistan

2009-02-18 06:00:36

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) --

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he has approved a plan to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

"The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action," Obama said in a newly-released statement.

"To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from Secretary (Robert) Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer," said the president.

On the Afghan security situation, Obama said that "Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe-haven along the Pakistani border."

"This (troop) increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires," he said.

However, Obama did not disclose the exact number of the additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan, or the time of the deployment.

Pentagon officials said earlier in the day that there would be a "significant troop increase." Some U.S. media reported that the coming military buildup in Afghanistan would involve over 12,000 additional troops, while some others put the number at 17,000.

It was the first major military deployment decision the Obama administration has made since it came into power in January.

The U.S. ground commanders in Afghanistan have requested as many as 30,000 additional troops, including three more combat brigades, an aviation brigade and other supporting troops. If let go, it would nearly double the size of the 30,000-strong U.S. force currently deployed there.

Obama noted in the statement that the troop increase "does not pre-determine the outcome of that strategic review," but will further enable the country to "put together a comprehensive strategy that will employ all elements of our national power to fulfill achievable goals in Afghanistan."

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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