Clinton calls for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan

-Bayh and Clinton wrote in a letter to Gates...."It
would be tragic if we fail in Afghanistan because of
an unwillingness to deploy a manageable size of
additional troops to aid an important and willing ally
during a time of true need."
The senators also highlighted the continued shortage
in Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance (ISR)
capabilities, including Predator unmanned aerial
vehicles....

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=4891e553-9fc0-48dc-9eab-bee46a56f846

CanWest (Canada)
January 17, 2007

Clinton calls for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan
Sheldon Alberts

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton called
Wednesday for more American troops in Afghanistan
while putting a cap on the number of U.S. soldiers
deployed in Iraq.

Clinton, who is expected to take a run at the White
House in 2008, wrote a letter to U.S. Defence
Secretary Robert Gates in which she urged the
immediate deployment of two new infantry battalions —
roughly 2,000 soldiers — to southern Afghanistan,
where Canadian forces are preparing for a Taliban
offensive in the spring.

Clinton also called for a legislated cap on the number
of U.S. troops in Iraq, currently about 132,000.

The Bush administration has its priorities "upside
down" in the war on terror, Clinton said, and the U.S.
risks losing Afghanistan to the Taliban unless it
boosts its military commitment.

"The president’s team is pursuing a failed strategy in
Iraq as it edges closer to collapse. Afghanistan needs
more of our effort and attention," Clinton said at a
Capitol Hill news conference.

"It would be a great irony if the administration’s
emphasis on escalating our presence in Iraq caused us
to ignore the threats facing Afghanistan, where those
responsible for planning the Sept. 11 attacks are
still our enemies."

Her statements came following a trip last week to
Kabul and Baghdad, where she met with U.S. military
commanders, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Clinton said U.S. President George W. Bush’s plan to
add 21,500 new American soldiers to Iraq "cannot be
successful" unless Iraqi leaders first demonstrate the
will to crack down on sectarian militias in the
country.

Clinton said she was not re-assured following her
meetings with Maliki and will introduce legislation to
cut off funding to the Iraqi government unless it
moves quickly to assume responsibility for security.

A spokesman for Bush denounced as dangerous Clinton’s
idea to limit the number of troops in Iraq.

"To tie one’s hand in a time of war is a pretty
extreme move," said White House press secretary Tony
Snow.

Clinton is expected to announce within the month
whether she will seek the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2008.

The former first lady’s likely entrance into the race
would set up a historic clash between herself and
fellow Democratic Senator Barack Obama — marking the
first time a woman and an African-American competed as
leading candidates for their party’s nomination.
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/011807/clinton.html

The Hill (US)
January 17, 2007

Clinton, Bayh urge Gates to up U.S. troop levels in
Afghanistan
By Roxana Tiron

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Evan Bayh
(D-Ind.) are urging Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
to send more troops to Afghanistan to stave off a
likely Taliban offensive in the spring.

The two senators returned Monday from a four-day trip
to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Clinton, a
potential 2008 presidential contender, is among
several other Democrats, including Sen. Joseph Biden
Jr. (D-Del.), who have said that a troop "surge"
should occur in Afghanistan rather than in Iraq, as
President Bush has proposed.

Clinton called Afghanistan a success story, but said
the United States and its NATO allies must make a
concerted effort to quash a resurgence of Taliban
fighters. According to Clinton, U.S. military officers
in Afghanistan said during meetings that they would
need two additional infantry battalions in the
southern part of the country.

There have been reports that one battalion will move
out of the eastern part of Afghanistan and deploy to
Iraq under the president's new plan. But Clinton said
military commanders would like that battalion to stay
where it is or be replaced. According to Clinton and
Bayh, military commanders in Afghanistan need about
2,300 more troops.

"The Taliban - and its al Qaeda partner - remains a
pernicious enemy, and a failure to defeat it
decisively in the spring risks undermining public
confidence in the government of Afghan President Hamid
Karzai," Bayh and Clinton wrote in a letter to Gates.
"It would be tragic if we fail in Afghanistan because
of an unwillingness to deploy a manageable size of
additional troops to aid an important and willing ally
during a time of true need."

The senators also highlighted the continued shortage
in Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance (ISR)
capabilities, including Predator unmanned aerial
vehicles, and the importance of helping a country that
has proven to be a willing partner in the fight
against terrorism.

"There are reasons to be hopeful about Afghanistan,"
Bayh said during a press conference yesterday. The
country is unified politically, he added, but the
spring and summer will be critical in the fight
against the Taliban resurgence.

Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) a senior member of the House
Armed Services Committee, also traveled with the
senators. There is a "critical need for the injection
of new forces in Afghanistan," he said during the
press conference.

===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
==============================