Biden promises more troops in Afghanistan visit

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Vice-President elect Joe Biden and Gen. David McKiernan, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, talk after arriving at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul on Jan. 10.


Biden promises more troops in Afghanistan visit
By Fisnik Abrashi - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 11, 2009 9:56:51 EST

KABUL, Afghanistan — Vice President-elect Joe Biden pledged long-term American support for Afghanistan during a visit Saturday, and the commander of NATO-led forces told him that thousands of new American troops expected this year will need more support against surging Taliban violence.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to end the war in Iraq and refocus American military efforts on Afghanistan. Biden’s visit is a sign that Obama plans to make the region an immediate priority.

In a meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Biden “talked about ... the fight against terrorism, American troop increases as well as equipping and supplying of the Afghan forces,” a statement from Karzai’s office said, without providing any details.

Earlier, America’s top general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, told Biden that thousands of new American troops expected in the country’s south will need more support to beat back surging Taliban violence.

Some 32,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan serve alongside another 32,000 other NATO-led and coalition troops, the highest number since the invasion to oust the Taliban from power began in 2001.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_biden_afghanistan_011109/%2e