US Seeks More NATO Troops in Afghanistan

By LOLITA C. BALDOR – AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon warned Tuesday that NATO nations will be expected to fill the void when a contingent of about 3,200 U.S. Marines leaves Afghanistan at the end of this year.
After months of haggling unsuccessfully with NATO allies over who would provide the roughly 7,500 troops commanders have been saying they need in Afghanistan, the U.S. tapped two Marine units for the task this week.
But, in what sounded like threats made early last year, the Pentagon said this deployment will be a one-time deal, and that NATO will need to pick up the slack when the Marine combat unit and training battalion leave.
"Our commitment is finite with regard to this deployment," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

He said that while the U.S. would like to see allies match the number of Marines with a similar number of their own troops, that probably is not going to happen by spring, when an offensive by the country's Taliban insurgency is expected. Instead, he said it may be more likely that NATO countries could eventually come up with replacement forces.
"At the very least, we would hope they would take a serious look at back-filling this deployment after the Marines leave at the end of this year," Morrell said.
Early last year, Pentagon officials said they were not inclined to commit more combat troops to the Afghan effort, and instead pressed allies to step up and provide more manpower and resources to the NATO-led coalition.
But after nearly a year of largely unsuccessful high-level meetings and persistent lobbying, Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed orders this week sending a Marine Expeditionary Unit and a battalion to Afghanistan.

The Pentagon's concerns about the failure of allies to send in more troops were echoed by Rep. Duncan Hunter, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, who sent a letter to all of the NATO defense ministers as well as top U.S. leaders.
"In the eyes of Congress, it is unacceptable that the United States must continue to dig deeper into its military force when some of our NATO allies are unwilling to fulfill or make robust commitments to the international effort in Afghanistan," said Hunter, R-Calif., who is running for president.
And he warned that he will use defense bills to block allies who haven't held up their end of the bargain from "having unfettered access to U.S. taxpayer-funded defense contracts."

Once complete, the deployment would increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan to as much as 30,000, the highest level since the 2001 invasion.
Currently, there are about 27,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including 14,000 with the NATO-led coalition. The other 13,000 U.S. troops are training Afghan forces and hunting al-Qaida terrorists.

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