Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan

Heartland strategy seeks to cut off Taliban's supply of fighters, drug money
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2009 2:14 AM CST
Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan
US soldiers board an Army Chinook transport helicopter after it brought fresh soldiers and supplies to the Korengal Outpost last year.   (Getty Images)

US commanders are finalizing plans to beat back the resurgent Taliban with tens of thousands of extra American troops in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of Barack Obama's emerging strategy, reinforcements will be deployed in rural areas where Kabul's grip is weak, including along the border with Pakistan and in the country's opium growing heartland.

The Pentagon hopes up to 30,00 more troops will be in-country by the end of summer to implement its new strategy of choking off the Taliban's supply of drug money and fresh fighters from Pakistan. Vice President Joe Biden has warned that the surge will inevitably trigger an increase in US casualties.
(More troop surge stories.)

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