US May Send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan

Pentagon considers more troops to ward off Taliban offensive
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:06 PM CST
US May Send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, center, is saluted by a member of the Afghanistan National Army, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007, during a tour of the Kabul Military Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan. Gates will consider a proposal to boost Marine levels in Afghanistan by 3,000. (AP Photo/Pool, Haraz N. Ghanbari)   (Associated Press)

Afghanistan may receive its own troop surge this April, the AP reports. To fend off a resurgent Taliban, the Pentagon will consider deploying another 3,000 Marines for 7 months. Military commanders say they actually need another 7,500 troops to fend off the expected offensive, and defense chief Robert Gates is growing convinced that NATO members will not contribute.

Gates "has some more thinking to do on this matter because it's a serious allocation of forces," said a spokesman. Last year was the most violent since the 2001 US invasion began in Afghanistan, where the US currently has 26,000 troops. Gates will receive the proposal Friday but won’t make a decision this week, the AP says. (More Afghanistan stories.)

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