The New York Times reports today that the Pentagon is “considering sending as many as 7,000 more American troops to Afghanistan next year to make up for a shortfall in contributions from NATO allies.” One official referred to it as the “re-Americanization” of the war:
They said the step would push the number of American forces there to roughly 40,000, the highest level since the war began more than six years ago, and would require at least a modest reduction in troops from Iraq.
The planning began in recent weeks, reflecting a growing resignation to the fact that NATO is unable or unwilling to contribute more troops despite public pledges of an intensified effort in Afghanistan from the presidents and prime ministers who attended an alliance summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania, last month.
In February, when lobbying NATO countries to pledge more forces to Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates observed, “Many of them, I think, have a problem with our involvement in Iraq and project that to Afghanistan.”
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