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Afghan War Hamstrung by Troop Shortage

Posted Jul 3, 08 12:26 PM CDT in World,  US 

(Newser) – The US needs more troops in Afghanistan but lacks the available forces because of the Iraq war, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday. In his most pointed remarks to date, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen said that countering the country's resurgent Taliban and booming drug trade demands more than the 32,000 American troops stationed there, but that such a move necessitates "a reduced requirement in Iraq."

President Bush has promised to boost troop levels by year's end of the year, but military officials say that won’t happen until conditions stabilize in Iraq, which occupies 145,000 American troops, reports the Washington Post. “If you want to deal with Afghanistan, you have to deal with Iraq first,” counters one expert, who estimates the next president could reduce Iraq's forces by 2011.
Source: Washington Post

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President Bush, right, with Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen. Bush promised to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by the end of the year.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
An Afghan man collects resin from poppies in an opium poppy field in Afghanistan. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Afghanistan's extensive drug trade is hampering US efforts...   (AP Photo)
About 60,000 troops from 40 nations are in Afghanistan, 32,000 of them from the United States. The US has 145,000 forces in Iraq.   (Index Stock)
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen has said repeatedly that more troops are needed in Afghanistan, but his comments yesterday were more pointed.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen says the US needs more troops in Afghanistan, but the effort is hampered by the numbers of troops required in Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
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Iraq • George W. Bush • Afghanistan • US military • Taliban • American troops • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Michael Mullen


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