U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is greeted by U.S. Air Force Wing leadership of Manas Air Base located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 11, 2008. Gates held a Town Hall meeting with the U.S. airmen that are deployed there. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry MorrisonFrom The New York Times:
Gates Details Troop Deployments on Unannounced Trip to the Country
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The Pentagon hopes to deploy two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan by next summer, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday, accelerating the shift of resources from Iraq.
Mr. Gates, speaking to reporters traveling with him on an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, said one of the two brigades could be diverted from Iraq, but Pentagon officials said no final decisions had been made on either unit.
The additional forces will be deployed to Afghanistan as part of a broad U.S. push to reverse the country's recent deterioration. Afghanistan's violence has risen sharply this year, with U.S. fatalities and Afghan civilian deaths both hitting record highs. Some remote parts of the country are under de facto Taliban control.
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My Comment: The decision has already been made to send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan .... Sec. Def. Gates is there for the details.