Pentagon Downplays 13K Surge in Afghan Support Troops

Extra thousands swell US numbers in Afghanistan

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2009 7:53 AM CDT

(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.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

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. (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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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 15 comments

zackmasson

Oct 14, 2009 7:20 AM CDT

lol personal insults nice move morons. I'm capable of doing what ever i want. so go take your petty insults somewhere else.

EddyTeach

Oct 13, 2009 12:59 PM CDT

This article is trying to say that Gates and the Pentagon are using the euphemism "enablers" instead of just saying 13,000 more troops. Newsflash: Enablers is what they are called. Mechanics, linguists, engineers, doctors-- these are the kind of people we should be happy to send to Afghanistan-- they will design the schools, build the bridges, and heal the wounded. If we are trying a new counterinsurgency strategy, we need to have these enablers to speak to the population. Get a grip, DoD isn't trying to hide this from you.

bahari@bellsouth.net

Oct 13, 2009 12:57 PM CDT

I cannot count, where did the 68,000 come from.?

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Afghanistan • Pentagon • troop surge • Robert Gates • US military • troop levels • Afghanistan war • Stanley McChrystal

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Pentagon Downplays 13K Surge in Afghan Support Troops