US to help raise 50,000 more troops for Afghan army

Defence Secretary Gates gives green signal for bn plan

Plans afoot to put US troops under single general's command

WASHINGTON: Defence Secretary Robert Gates has endorsed an Afghanistan government proposal to increase the size of the Afghan army by more than 50,000 troops.

The new plan will cost well over billion. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday officials are currently looking at ways to finance it. Options would include seeking money from NATO allies. Morrell said the proposal would increase the size of the Afghan army from a planned 80,000 troops to roughly 122,000, plus 13,000 in support staff.

Unified command: In addition, Gates is poised to approve a plan that would give Army General David McKiernan broader control over US forces in Afghanistan. Currently, McKiernan commands the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, which includes about 15,000 US forces. Under the new proposal, McKiernan also would control the additional US forces in Afghanistan who are training the Afghan army and police. There are about 33,000 US troops in Afghanistan, the highest since the war began.

All told, the five-year plan could cost about billion, according to The New York Times, which first reported the proposal on its website late Thursday. Attacks from Taliban militants have spiked in recent months in Afghanistan, and commanders there have said repeatedly that they need additional US forces. Commanders have asked for three additional combat brigades, and military officials hope that as troops levels are reduced in Iraq they will be able to shift forces to Afghanistan by early next year.

The Pentagon long has been considering military commanders' suggestions to better coordinate the mission in Afghanistan. "The US is looking to streamline the command and control by making McKiernan essentially in charge of all US forces in Afghanistan so that one person can deploy them in support of the overall mission," Morrell said.

The plan, which does not yet have final approval, would leave the smaller number of US forces that are battling the Taliban and overseeing detainees under the control of US Central Command. Currently, US Central Command also directs the training forces.

Morrell said the proposal would not blend the NATO and training missions together. He added that this "imminent" decision has come after close consultation with leaders of the NATO allies.

The move to add to McKiernan's authority is designed to extend US control of forces into the country's volatile south, an idea partly linked to an expectation of a fresh infusion of US combat troops in the south next year. ap