US troops in Afghanistan set to cross 100,000

The US President will make public his new plans for Afghanistan and Pakistan at a televised address at 8.00 p m local time (0630 IST Wednesday),and according to top administration officials the first contingents of the new forces would be in Afghanistan by Christmas.

His scheduled announcement to be made from the West Point Military Academy in New York,would represent a defining decision of his presidency. Already leaked reports have put the figure of additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan,where Taliban forces have been on an offensive for the past several months,between 30,000 to 34,000.

The troops would be inducted in a step-by-step manner and the US President is not expected to set any deadline for American withdrawal. The New York Times and The Cable a blog of the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine put the additional increase of US troops to 30,000,while The Washington Post said Obama would announce to send an additional 34,000 troops.

In both cases,the total number of US troops in the Taliban infested country will cross an all time high figure of 100,000,more than half of which has been sent by the Obama Administration.

Besides battling the resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda,the new troops would be inducted to secure major Afghan cities,highways and vital installations. The troops surge would be backed by a massive effort to step up aid to civilians.

In the new combat against a more confident Taliban,Obama and his top commanders would have to re-brand the war strategy to win over a sharply polarised and divided Afghanistan which has been dismayed by rising civilian deaths in combat and rising unemployment and inflation.

Back home,Obama has to convince sceptics fearing a Vietnam-style quagmire and tell them that the boost in troop numbers is essential to defeat ultra-radical groups like al Qaeda who would otherwise reattempt to attack western nations. Obama will also have to convince the critics that he can fashion a victory in a limited time-frame and chalk out a path home for American forces who have been at war since 9/11. The American troop surge would come in the backdrop of sliding public support for the war and the US forces’ suffering 900 casualties in 2009,their heaviest so far.

The President’s speech will also bring out the new US strategy towards Pakistan where the al Qaeda and Taliban havens lie. The strategy would be closely watched and followed by foreign governments weighing US intent.

There are about 71,000 US troops currently stationed in Afghanistan. NATO and other allies collectively have an additional 36,000 troops in the country.

However,the White House spokesman,Robert Gibbs refused to divulge any figure for additional troops. Obama also plans to ask NATO and other partners in an international coalition to contribute 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan,the Washington Post said today quoting unnamed officials.

In his speech,Obama is expected to outline a mix of a new counterinsurgency-heavy approach for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gibbs insisted in his briefing that it will not be an “open-ended commitment” and that it will come with an exit policy.