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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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17

Pentagon Downplays 13K Surge in Afghan Support Troops

Extra thousands swell US numbers in Afghanistan

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(Newser) – When does 21,000 equal 34,000? When the Pentagon is counting. The 21,000 additional troops President Obama approved for Afghanistan earlier this year have been accompanied by 13,000 extra support troops, bringing the total number in Afghanistan to nearly 68,000. Pentagon and White House officials have made little mention of the extra manpower, which includes engineers, medical personnel, and intelligence experts.

The total numbers of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is now higher than at the height of the Iraq surge, highlighting the strain on the military, notes the Washington Post. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to ask for the flexibility to send even more support troops—which he refers to as "enablers"—ahead of any decision to send more combat personnel to Afghanistan, although officials say any big increase will be hard to sustain.

Sen. Patrick Leahy speaks to a large crowd of Vermont National Guard troops ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.
Sen. Patrick Leahy speaks to a large crowd of Vermont National Guard troops ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Members of the Army's 4th Brigade Combat team, 25th Infantry Division, stand at attention during a deployment ceremony in Anchorage earlier this year.
Members of the Army's 4th Brigade Combat team, 25th Infantry Division, stand at attention during a deployment ceremony in Anchorage earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
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The 21,000 are only combat forces, and when the combat forces go in, there are a certain amount of additional forces that are required. - Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman

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17 comments
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zackmasson
Oct 13, 09 2:04 AM CDT
Wow, wtf. Just WTF. I will not join the military because of shit like this, there's no way im following orders from incompetent people. Reply
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Mad
Oct 13, 09 3:27 AM CDT
Not a problem. The military doesn't want a wimp like you anyway. Only real men need apply
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shonangreg
Oct 13, 09 4:12 AM CDT
Wha???
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jagerhans
Oct 13, 09 8:01 AM CDT
This comment has been removed by Newser’s community. You must be logged in to view this comment.
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kyleleitch
Oct 13, 09 6:11 PM CDT
Tumbs up. I suppport our troops because they aren't the ones making the orders. And... I thought Obama said he was going to pull troops from the area? Looks like more of his talk...
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