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July 25, 2008 4:53:06 PM CDT

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US May Send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan

Posted Jan 9, 08 9:06 PM CST in World,  US 

(Newser) – 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.

Source Associated Press

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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...   (Associated Press)
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that a proposal will go before Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday that would send a ground and air Marine contingent as well as a Marine battalion,...   (Associated Press)
The rarely photographed Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar is reportedly seen in this undated photo. US officials expect the Taliban to be resurgent once again in Afghanistan this spring, and the Pentagon...   (Associated Press)
Unidentified U.S. Marines are shown in this 2001 file photo in Afghanistan. The Pentagon is preparing to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan in April to bolster efforts to hold off another expected...   (Associated Press)
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