The US is to deploy up to 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan by next summer. The figure — a third more than had been anticipated — was announced by Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and represents the highest figure mentioned publicly by a senior US official.
The confirmation of the scale of the troop surge — along with the increase in the upper limit of envisioned new forces — reflects concern over the course of the war in Afghanistan, which has been hit by numerous setbacks as security across the country has deteriorated in the face of Taliban advances.
In recent weeks Taliban attacks have severely disrupted the main supply line for US and NATO troops into the country from Pakistan, a route that carries up to 75 percent of supplies to foreign forces.
Washington is already sending some 3,000 extra troops to Afghanistan next month and another 2,800 by spring.
However, previously officials have said that the number would be increased by 20,000 in the next 12 to 18 months, once approved by the new administration of US president-elect Barack Obama.
The increased scale of the commitment of US combat troops is bound to bring renewed pressure on the UK and other NATO partners to commit more troops: Senior US military figures and officials have complained that the US is shouldering too much of the burden in the war against the Taliban.
Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced an extra 300 British troops for Helmand Province after visiting troops in Afghanistan. Senior British government sources then played down the prospect of further reinforcements this spring. However, Brown will be under pressure not to jeopardize a fledgling relationship with Obama if the new US president requests more British troops.
“Some 20 [thousand] to 30,000 is the window of overall increase from where we are right now. I don’t have an exact number,” Mullen told reporters. “We’ve agreed on the requirement and so it’s clear to me that we’re going to fill that requirement. So, it’s not a matter of if, but when,” he said.
“We’re looking to get them here in the spring, but certainly by the beginning of summer at the latest,” he said.
Half of the new US troops are expected to be deployed to southern Afghanistan, where British forces are stationed.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said