More Troops for Afghanistan?

August 12, 2009— -- With 21,000 U.S. troops already arriving in Afghanistan this year, the speculation continues to mount about how many more forces a top U.S. commander might request for next year as he wraps up an eagerly anticipated assessment of the security situation in that country.

Upon taking command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in June, Gen. Stanley McChrystal was tasked by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to conduct a 60-day security assessment, which is expected to be presented to the Pentagon by early next month. Speculation about its conclusions and a possible request for even more U.S. troops has become rampant in Washington. News reports contain estimates of McChrystal's possibly requesting a range of 10,000 to 45,000 more troops in order to undertake a full counterinsurgency strategy to protect the Afghan population centers from the Taliban.

The speculation has taken on a life of its own at a time of mounting U.S. and NATO casualties in Afghanistan. July was the deadliest month for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan since they arrived in 2001 -- 76 coalition troops were killed in Afghanistan last month, 45 of them American.

Interest in a possible recommendation for more troops continued to grow after it was disclosed that Gates had secretly traveled to Belgium last week to consult with McChrystal and other top generals to receive an interim briefing on his conclusions. Gates has often expressed concern that expanding the size of the U.S. troop "footprint" in Afghanistan may be counterproductive if the Afghan population begins to perceive U.S. forces less as allies and more as occupiers.

In announcing the details of Gates' trip , Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters that Gates has not placed a cap on troop requests from his military commanders and the meeting in Brussels was no different.

The range of troop numbers McChrystal is said to be considering seems to have originated, in part, from recommendations he received from prominent military analysts at Washington think tanks that he invited to Afghanistan to contribute to the assessment.