Afghanistan troop build up news stories on Newser

US Sends 1,400 More Marines to Afghanistan

Kevin Spak — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:22:10 CST

In a surprise move, the Pentagon has decided to send another 1,400 Marines to Afghanistan, putting a cherry on top of the US troop surge before July’s scheduled troop withdrawals. The battalions should be in place by mid-January, and will be concentrated around Kandahar, officials tell the Wall Street...

3 US Troops Killed in Afghan Fighting

Kevin Spak — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:48:00 CST

Three US servicemembers were killed in battle in southern Afghanistan today, the latest casualties of the escalated fighting in the region that's accompanied President Obama's troop surge. NATO said the men died in an engagement with the enemy, but gave no further details. Earlier today, authorities said another servicemember and...

General: Brace for Thousands of GI Casualties

Rob Quinn — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:26:41 CST

America should prepare for thousands of casualties when the beefed-up US force in Afghanistan begins its spring offensive against the Taliban, warns a retired general and military expert. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, an analyst who has visited the war zone several times, predicts US casualties will rise to as many as...

Afghanistan '09 Twice as Deadly as Iraq for US

Rob Quinn — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:22:26 CST

This has been the first year since the Iraq war began that more Americans troops were killed in Afghanistan than Iraq, and next year is expected to be even worse. Some 319 American troops have died in Afghanistan this year, compared with 148 for Iraq, USA Today reports.

US Death Toll in Afghanistan Doubles Over '08

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:03:29 CST

A bomb has killed the 310th US soldier to die in Afghanistan this year, making the total number of 2009 casualties exactly twice that of the 155 lost in 2008. And though this has been the deadliest year of the war for the US, military officials tell the AFP that...

McChrystal: We'll Know by This Time Next Year

Kevin Spak — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:23:23 CST

The US should know by this time next year whether the troop buildup in Afghanistan worked, Stanley McChrystal told the House Armed Services panel today, though he cautioned that there was no easy road to success. "The sober fact is that there are no silver bullets," he said. "Ultimate success...

Obama's Long Road to Afghan Strategy

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:26:00 CST

Amid cries of "dithering" and the silent finality of Arlington's rows of white tombstones, President Obama calmly, analytically, and exhaustively reviewed all options in Afghanistan before finally announcing to his team on Nov. 29 that he would send in 30,000 more troops. The New York Times retraces the president's...

'Muslim President' Hates Charlie Brown: Tenn. Mayor

M. Morris — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:32:31 CST

President Obama's speech on the Afghanistan troop buildup bumped the annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas , really ticking off the mayor of Arlington, Tenn. He apparently hasn't heard that nothing is private on Facebook, where he vented about TV scheduling: "Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the...

NATO Commits 7K More Troops

Caroline Miller — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:03:26 CST

NATO answered President Obama's call for reinforcements in Afghanistan today with a pledge to provide 7,000 more troops. The NATO secretary-general, speaking at a press conference, didn't say where the troops will come from, but Britain has already offered 500, and Italy, Poland, Georgia, and Slovakia will each deploy...