April 3, 2008 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, says, “What immediately comes to mind is additional forces for Afghanistan.”
“I’ve said that Afghanistan is an economy-of-force campaign. And there are force requirements there that we can’t currently meet,” the top US commander said.
In his NATO speech in Bucharest, US President George W. Bush pressed White House allies to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Washington has recently dispatched 3,500 additional Marines to the war-hit country, increasing the number of the US forces to some 30,000.
Despite the US plan to send more troops to Afghanistan, battlefield commanders still say they lack sufficient forces to fight Taliban.
NATO’s unwillingness to reinforce military forces in Afghanistan has poured cold water on the US ambitions in Afghanistan in fight against Taliban in the chaotic south.
France and Germany have recently on a joint venture sent 5,000 troops to Afghanistan in safe areas, dashing the US dreams to replace the US troops in the volatile south.
