WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he wants to send more troops to Afghanistan “sooner rather than later,” signaling a shift in priorities from Iraq amid warnings of an accelerating Taliban threat.
Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also said Pakistan needed to do more to stop the unimpeded flow of Taliban and other fighters into Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan.
“There is a real need to do something on the Pakistani side of the border to bring pressure to bear on the Taliban and some of these other violent groups,” Gates said.
The US defense chief denied as “untrue” a report that US forces were massing on the border to go into Pakistan. But he did not rule out unilateral military action across the border.
The growing threat was cited by US commanders in Afghanistan in their requests for more troops, as well as a doubling of the number of mine resistant, armor protected vehicles (MRAPS) they now have to protect troops from roadside explosions.
Alarm over the deteriorating security was punctuated Sunday by the death of nine US soldiers in an insurgent attack on a combat outpost, the deadliest on US forces since 2005.
“I think we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later,” Gates said, adding that no decisions have been taken yet.
“It’s a tougher fight; it’s a more complex fight; and (commanders) need more troops to have the long-term impact that we all want to have there,” Mullen said.
Mullen, who just returned from visits to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said he expected to be able to recommend further US troop cuts this year in Iraq if security conditions continue to improve.
(The Post)
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