July 28,
2008: The U.S. is planning on cutting
strength still further in Iraq next year, while sending two more combat
brigades (about 10,000 troops) and 4,000 trainers to Afghanistan. Commanders in
Afghanistan have been particularly intent on getting more trainers for the
Afghan police and army. The Afghans make good soldiers, if they can get the
training. American trainers are needed to help with the more technical aspects
of fighting with modern weapons and tactics. With enough U.S. trainers, and two
or three years of sustained effort, sufficient Afghan trainers can be prepared,
and this will eliminate the need for so many American trainers.
Moving
more combat brigades to Afghanistan is much more difficult than it is in Iraq.
That's because most of the supplies must be trucked in from Pakistan. There are
a limited number of roads, and these can only take so much traffic. On top of
that, the Afghan economy is booming,
increasing civilian demand for more goods. There are many reconstruction
projects devoted to building roads. But the Taliban know what more roads mean
(in a military sense), and have been harassing the road construction projects
for the last five years.
