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3,500 more U.S. troops headed to Afghanistan, officials say
Source: Washington Post
3,500 more U.S. troops headed to Afghanistan, officials say
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Dan Lamothe September 6 at 5:30 PM
The United States will send an additional 3,500 troops to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The long-expected deployment would bring the total number of American troops in the country to more than 14,000.
Last week, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that he had signed deployment orders for some of the troops but would not make an announcement on the specific numbers until after he briefed Congress. On Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. met on Capitol Hill with lawmakers during a closed-door session. The officials who said that Mattis had approved the roughly 3,500 additional forces spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop numbers that had not been released by the Pentagon. Reuters was first to report on the development.
It is unclear what the additional U.S. forces plan to accomplish in the nearly 16-year-old war and how long that might take. Last month President Trump outlined a broad strategy for Afghanistan and the surrounding region, saying that “conditions on the ground — not arbitrary timetables” would guide his administration’s approach. He also said that he would take a stronger stance against Pakistan — a country long accused of harboring militants within its borders — and that American forces would “have the necessary tools and rules of engagement to make this strategy work.”
-snip-
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Dan Lamothe September 6 at 5:30 PM
The United States will send an additional 3,500 troops to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The long-expected deployment would bring the total number of American troops in the country to more than 14,000.
Last week, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that he had signed deployment orders for some of the troops but would not make an announcement on the specific numbers until after he briefed Congress. On Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. met on Capitol Hill with lawmakers during a closed-door session. The officials who said that Mattis had approved the roughly 3,500 additional forces spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop numbers that had not been released by the Pentagon. Reuters was first to report on the development.
It is unclear what the additional U.S. forces plan to accomplish in the nearly 16-year-old war and how long that might take. Last month President Trump outlined a broad strategy for Afghanistan and the surrounding region, saying that “conditions on the ground — not arbitrary timetables” would guide his administration’s approach. He also said that he would take a stronger stance against Pakistan — a country long accused of harboring militants within its borders — and that American forces would “have the necessary tools and rules of engagement to make this strategy work.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/09/06/3500-more-u-s-troops-headed-to-afghanistan-officials-say/
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