AFGHANISTAN: 30,000 more troops ordered

FOR SECURITY AND RE-BUILDING

President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011.

Soldiers will be deployed as quickly as possible, bringing US troop strength in the country to more than 100,000. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said, calling for more allied troops. The mission in Afghanistan, he added, was to defeat al-Qaeda, reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny them the ability to overthrow the government.

Mr Obama reached his deployment decision after more than three months of deliberations and 10 top-level meetings with advisers. Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, welcomed the speech, saying he had been given “a clear military mission” and the necessary resources.

Some 32,000 other foreign troops are serving in Afghanistan but Nato allies have been cautious about further contributions. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged members to do more. He told reporters on Wednesday that 5,000 extra troops would be sent in 2010, and “probably” a few thousand in addition.

The Afghan government said it supported the new US strategy. Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said that with international help Afghanistan’s armed forces would be able to start taking responsibility for security in 18 months.