US to rush 1400 more marines to Afghanistan
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Anticipating a Taliban surge ahead of mandated troop reduction, US, in a surprise move, has decided to dispatch additional 1400 strong marine combat force to Afghanistan.
A decision to boost up US forces has been decided by the defence secretary Robert Gates and the marine battalion could start arriving on the ground as early as mid-January, Wall Street Journal reported.
The new troops are to be deployed in the south around the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar where the US has concentrated troops over the past several months.
"Commanders are also examining other proposals to temporarily boost further the number of combat troops in Afghanistan in addition to the marines authorised on Wednesday," WSJ said quoting Pentagon officials.
The officials said if the plans are approved, the front line fighting force could be boosted by as many as 300 troops.
The fresh forces, US officials said, were being dispatched on the request of field commanders who fear that Taliban may be planning an anticipated spring offensive by pumping in militants from their bases in neighbouring Pakistan.
US commanders in Afghanistan are facing intense pressure to show sustainable security gains in the first half of 2011.
"Military officials fear that an upswing in attacks by the Taliban could convince the White House that the Pentagon's war strategy is flawed, which could mean that the troop pullout should be accelerated," officials told the newspaper.
No Congressional approval would be required for the new troop surge. The additional marine deployment could push the total surge of troops in Afghanistan beyond 30,000 announced by President Barack Obama.
There are now as many as 97,000 American personnel in Afghanistan and WSJ said it was unclear how many of them were directly involved in the combat operations.
"The rationale is to take advantage of the gains we have made over the last several months and apply more pressure on the enemy at a time when he is already under the gun," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell was quoted as saying.
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