KABUL — Some powerful Afghan politicians and tribal leaders have expressed doubts that more U.S. troops can turn the tide of the war, as President Barack Obama prepares to unveil a new Afghanistan strategy Tuesday.
President Barack Obama has been briefing allies about his plans for Afghanistan. He’s expected to tell the public — and lawmakers — how many more troops he’ll send and that it’s not an open-ended commitment. Video courtesy of Fox News.
“We should focus on building the Afghan security forces, not sending more troops,” said Sebgatullah Sanjar, the chief policy adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
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With new technology and close monitoring of culverts and ditches, they have reduced the rudimentary bombs’ effectiveness by 20 percent since last year.
Saydabad, Afghanistan - Capt. Matthew Burnett and his men were patrolling the dangerous Kabul-Kandahar highway when their vehicle hit the one thing every soldier dreads – an improvised explosive device (IED).
“There was a big explosion, and we lost all visibility,” he recalls. “Some roadside debris even landed in the vehicle.”
But the troops emerged unscathed, and kept on driving – something unthinkable a few years ago. Captain Burnett and his men survived thanks to the MRAP, a new armored vehicle capable of withstanding very large blasts.
The vehicle is one of many innovations the United States military has developed to stay ahead of the insurgents, who readily adapt to American technology. New gadgets and techniques like the MRAP are also crucial to counter the soaring troop casualty rate in Afghanistan.
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Some 3000 US troops recently deployed to insurgent-heavy provinces near Kabul
Maydan Shahr, Afghanistan - The 3,000 new American troops who arrived in recent weeks in Logar and Wardak provinces, both of which border Kabul, face a formidable challenge: establishing control in areas with little government presence and where insurgents operate freely.
In Band-e-chak, for example, a district capital in Wardak, gun-toting Taliban fighters regularly come into town on their motorbikes to do some shopping. They buy their produce and go home, driving past government offices unmolested.
These provinces could be a key testing ground for the Obama administration’s Afghan strategy, which may include a surge of thousands of US forces countrywide.
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