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General Stanley McChrystal demands 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan
(Goran Tomasevic/REUTERS)
The last of the 21,000 troops President Obama ordered into Afghanistan are still arriving
Michael Evans, Defence Editor
The US commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has asked for 40,000 more troops, according to reports in Washington.
General Stanley McChrystals request was delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a meeting in Germany on Friday, The New York Times reported.
News of the recommendation emerged as another British soldier was killed in Afghanistan, taking total British fatalities since 2001 to 218. Three French soldiers and two American military personnel also died over the weekend.
General McChrystal handed made his request for more troops even though President Obama had failed to endorse his strategy for Afghanistan, which was laid out in a report delivered more than a week ago. Mr Obama is coming under pressure not to send more troops.
Mr Obama authorised another 21,000 US troops for Afghanistan as soon as he came into office in January and the last 6,000 from this surge are still arriving in theatre.
Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State, is the latest senior figure to cast doubt on whether further reinforcements would be effective.
The retired four-star Army general visited Mr Obama in the White House to voice his scepticism, The New York Times reported. General James Jones, the US National Security Adviser and a former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is also reported to have doubts.
Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, who has a copy of the latest report from General McChrystal, has not yet given his backing to the recommendation for reinforcements.
The latest British soldier to be killed was from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh. He was the 218th member of the Armed Forces to die in Afghanistan since 2001 81 of them in the first nine months of this year. This is the worst casualty rate since British troops were sent to Helmand in 2006.
The serviceman, whose next of kin have been informed, was caught in an explosion while on a vehicle patrol in the Musa Qala district in northern Helmand.
It has also been confirmed that three French servicemen died in a violent storm in northeastern Afghanistan and two American servicemen were killed in the south, one from a roadside bomb explosion and the other in a Taleban ambush.
The French fatalities were unusual. One soldier was struck by lightning and the other two were swept away in a river swollen by recent downpours of rain. They both drowned.
The three soldiers had been advancing through a mountainous area about 37 miles northeast of Kabul in an operation designed to strike at a network of bomb-setters, Admiral Christophe Prazuck, the French military spokesman, said.
They were among 250 French soldiers patrolling Afghanistans Kapisa region, about 30 miles from Kabul, alongside soldiers of the Afghan National Army.
President Sarkozy sent condolences to the soldiers families and reaffirmed Frances commitment to re-establishing peace and development in Afghanistan.
France, which has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, has lost 34 soldiers in enemy action and through non-battle incidents. The worst casualty toll occurred when ten French soldiers were killed in a Taleban ambush east of Kabul in August last year.
In other incidents, Mohammad Ismail Khan, Afghanistans power and water minister, survived a Taleban bomb attack in the western city of Herat today. Three civilians were killed and 17 more were wounded, including three of his bodyguards. The minister, a former Mujahidin commander and warlord, was travelling through Herat in a convoy when the bomb detonated.
General Stanley McChrystal demands 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan - Times Online
(Goran Tomasevic/REUTERS)
The last of the 21,000 troops President Obama ordered into Afghanistan are still arriving
Michael Evans, Defence Editor
The US commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has asked for 40,000 more troops, according to reports in Washington.
General Stanley McChrystals request was delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a meeting in Germany on Friday, The New York Times reported.
News of the recommendation emerged as another British soldier was killed in Afghanistan, taking total British fatalities since 2001 to 218. Three French soldiers and two American military personnel also died over the weekend.
General McChrystal handed made his request for more troops even though President Obama had failed to endorse his strategy for Afghanistan, which was laid out in a report delivered more than a week ago. Mr Obama is coming under pressure not to send more troops.
Mr Obama authorised another 21,000 US troops for Afghanistan as soon as he came into office in January and the last 6,000 from this surge are still arriving in theatre.
Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State, is the latest senior figure to cast doubt on whether further reinforcements would be effective.
The retired four-star Army general visited Mr Obama in the White House to voice his scepticism, The New York Times reported. General James Jones, the US National Security Adviser and a former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is also reported to have doubts.
Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, who has a copy of the latest report from General McChrystal, has not yet given his backing to the recommendation for reinforcements.
The latest British soldier to be killed was from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh. He was the 218th member of the Armed Forces to die in Afghanistan since 2001 81 of them in the first nine months of this year. This is the worst casualty rate since British troops were sent to Helmand in 2006.
The serviceman, whose next of kin have been informed, was caught in an explosion while on a vehicle patrol in the Musa Qala district in northern Helmand.
It has also been confirmed that three French servicemen died in a violent storm in northeastern Afghanistan and two American servicemen were killed in the south, one from a roadside bomb explosion and the other in a Taleban ambush.
The French fatalities were unusual. One soldier was struck by lightning and the other two were swept away in a river swollen by recent downpours of rain. They both drowned.
The three soldiers had been advancing through a mountainous area about 37 miles northeast of Kabul in an operation designed to strike at a network of bomb-setters, Admiral Christophe Prazuck, the French military spokesman, said.
They were among 250 French soldiers patrolling Afghanistans Kapisa region, about 30 miles from Kabul, alongside soldiers of the Afghan National Army.
President Sarkozy sent condolences to the soldiers families and reaffirmed Frances commitment to re-establishing peace and development in Afghanistan.
France, which has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, has lost 34 soldiers in enemy action and through non-battle incidents. The worst casualty toll occurred when ten French soldiers were killed in a Taleban ambush east of Kabul in August last year.
In other incidents, Mohammad Ismail Khan, Afghanistans power and water minister, survived a Taleban bomb attack in the western city of Herat today. Three civilians were killed and 17 more were wounded, including three of his bodyguards. The minister, a former Mujahidin commander and warlord, was travelling through Herat in a convoy when the bomb detonated.
General Stanley McChrystal demands 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan - Times Online
