Barack Obama to Send Additional Troops to Afghanistan

by Justin Martell

President Obama announced today that he has ordered 17,000 additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan to help suppress Taliban insurgents.

The specific purpose of the deployment is to help the 37,000 U.S. troops already stationed there as well as Canadian, Dutch, and British soldiers that are helping to fight against Taliban forces that have been gaining both ground and support for their movement in the past few months.

The president acknowledged the serious nature of his decision, saying, "There is no more solemn duty as president than the decision to deploy our armed forces into harm's way...I do it today, mindful that the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action."

Since the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban has been mostly limited to operating in the mountain regions on the Afghan-Pakistan border where it is difficult for U.S. military forces to locate them. However, just last week Taliban suicide bombers and gunman killed 20 people in and around government offices in Kabul, which has been though to be the safest area in the entire country.

U.S. Military commanders in Afghanistan have been requesting more troops for several months and are now having their requests granted. The fact that the Obama Administration has been planning to scale back on the number of troops occupying Iraq has made this possible.

President Obama has not given a date as to when either occupation will come to an end.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?hp

http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/obama+orders+more+troops+into+afghanistan/1299442/story.html?id=1299442

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/4684237/Barack-Obama-deploys-17000-more-troops-to-Afghanistan.html

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