WASHINGTON: The United States has ordered an additional 1,400 Marines to southern Afghanistan to preempt a Taliban spring offensive, despite a planned troop drawdown starting in July, the Pentagon said Thursday.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday "approved additional Marine forces to southern Afghanistan to exploit and consolidate gains already achieved and apply pressure on the enemy during the winter campaign," spokesman Colonel David Lapan told AFP.
The Marine contingent could start arriving within weeks and would only be on the ground for a short mission of less than 90 days, defence officials said.
The move was designed to cement tentative gains against the mostly Pashtun insurgency, with the hope of bolstering recently cleared areas between Kandahar city and Helmand province, officials said.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently based on a ship in the Indian Ocean, would be heading to Afghanistan for the "winter campaign," the head of US Central Command, General James Mattis, said later in a statement.
There are currently about 97,000 American troops in Afghanistan, along with 45,000 forces from other countries, and officials said the new Marines would not put the total number of US forces above the limit of 100,000 authorised by US President Barack Obama.
Channelnewsasia 7 Jan 2011 : Read Full Report.
