Roxi
07-03-2008, 11:44 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/07/03/2008-07-03_marines_afghanistan_stay_extended.html
Marines' Afghanistan stay extended
BY RICHARD SISK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, July 3rd 2008, 7:00 PM
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration was forced Thursday to extend the Afghan tour of 2,200 Marines by at least one month for lack of troops in the stretched-thin military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in May that he was "loath" to extend the stay in Afghanistan of the workhorse 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit from October to early November.
But military officials said Gates reversed course to beat back the current offensive of a resurgent Taliban, which is backed by Al Qaeda operating out of neighboring Pakistan.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said U.S. commanders in Afghanistan "asked for 30 more days to milk the fighting season to the bitter end and cement the gains they have made in the south," where the heaviest fighting has occurred.
June marked the second consecutive month in which casualties in Afghanistan have surpassed those in Iraq. At least 46 U.S. and allied troops were killed in Afghanistan in June compared with 31 in Iraq.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said this week that he can't meet the demands of U.S. ground commanders for 7,000 to 9,000 more troops in Afghanistan because of U.S. commitments in Iraq.
Currently, the U.S. has 32,000 troops in Afghanistan backed by about 25,000 allied troops under NATO command.
Top strategists for Barack Obama said that he "shared" the view of Mullen that more resources must be put into Afghanistan. "Oxygen has really been sucked out of the [Afghan] theater into Iraq," said Obama adviser Susan Wald.
A spokesman for John McCain said the Arizona senator "agreed that the military is overstretched. As President, John McCain would substantially increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps."
rsisk@nydailynews.com
this stinks of a draft coming... and how exactly does McWar think he will substantially increase the army and marines?
Marines' Afghanistan stay extended
BY RICHARD SISK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, July 3rd 2008, 7:00 PM
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration was forced Thursday to extend the Afghan tour of 2,200 Marines by at least one month for lack of troops in the stretched-thin military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in May that he was "loath" to extend the stay in Afghanistan of the workhorse 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit from October to early November.
But military officials said Gates reversed course to beat back the current offensive of a resurgent Taliban, which is backed by Al Qaeda operating out of neighboring Pakistan.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said U.S. commanders in Afghanistan "asked for 30 more days to milk the fighting season to the bitter end and cement the gains they have made in the south," where the heaviest fighting has occurred.
June marked the second consecutive month in which casualties in Afghanistan have surpassed those in Iraq. At least 46 U.S. and allied troops were killed in Afghanistan in June compared with 31 in Iraq.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said this week that he can't meet the demands of U.S. ground commanders for 7,000 to 9,000 more troops in Afghanistan because of U.S. commitments in Iraq.
Currently, the U.S. has 32,000 troops in Afghanistan backed by about 25,000 allied troops under NATO command.
Top strategists for Barack Obama said that he "shared" the view of Mullen that more resources must be put into Afghanistan. "Oxygen has really been sucked out of the [Afghan] theater into Iraq," said Obama adviser Susan Wald.
A spokesman for John McCain said the Arizona senator "agreed that the military is overstretched. As President, John McCain would substantially increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps."
rsisk@nydailynews.com
this stinks of a draft coming... and how exactly does McWar think he will substantially increase the army and marines?