U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates shakes hands with U.S. Air Force airmen on Manas Air Base located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan during a Town Hall meeting, Dec. 11, 2008. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry MorrisonFrom The New York Times:
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Wednesday that the Pentagon, which plans to send 20,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, was trying to get thousands of the additional combat forces into the country as soon as next summer, a sign of the seriousness of the threat facing the United States against the Taliban.
The soldiers were requested by Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top commander in Afghanistan. The first of them, about 3,500 to 4,000 troops from the Third Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., are scheduled to arrive next month.
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