(ANTIWAR.COM) — Over the weekend, reports have emerged suggesting that the Pentagon is in the process of considering another escalation of the Afghan War, with proposals pushing another 1,000 US ground troops being sent to the country soon.
The US had 8,500 troops in Afghanistan last August when President Trump announced his escalation, and has an estimated 14,000 there now. The US Army leadership is said to overwhelmingly back the proposal to add another 1,000, though Defense Secretary James Mattis hasn’t formally signed off on it.
If approved, the plan would be to add these troops to the brigade that is embedding with Afghan troops on the ground, meaning many would be heading into direct combat. Some military officials are conditioning this deployment on sending more heavy weaponry to the country.
When Trump’s escalation was announced, it was widely expected it would involve more deployments down the road, and was just a general commitment to keep throwing troops at a 16+ year war, as opposed to a single buildup.
By Jason Ditz / Republished with permission / ANTIWAR.COM / Report a typo
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