In early 2007, the U.S. military was able to "surge" five additional brigades to Iraq in relatively short order. But in Afghanistan, any major troop increase won't happen overnight.
Speaking yesterday to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates tamped down expectations of a rapid, across-the-board troop increase -- although he suggested that the first reinforcements could arrive there soon.
"First of all, the situation in Afghanistan is very different than the situation we faced in Iraq in the sense that we do not have the same kind of transportation access to Afghanistan that we did in Iraq, where we were able, over a five-month period or so, to bring in five brigade combat teams," he said. "So almost everything of consequence has to go in by air."
Further complicating matters is the withdrawal from Iraq. Around 115,000 troops remain in Iraq right now, and a sizeable contingent will need to stick around to support elections -- which may be delayed until spring. And there needs to be enough infrastructure to support the influx of troops, along with equipment to protect them from roadside bombs and other key gear.
Gates said all the so-called "critical enablers" that would pave the way for a surge (think medical assets, route clearance equipment, bomb-fighting gear, drones) were expected to be on the ground by the end of the year. "I anticipate that as soon as the president makes his decision, we can probably begin flowing some forces pretty quickly after that," he said. "But it is a bigger challenge than certainly was the -- was the case in Iraq."
That's an understatement. Earlier this week, Spencer Ackerman crunched the numbers on possible Army deployments. "If President Obama orders an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, he will be deploying practically every available U.S. Army brigade to war, leaving few units in reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency and further stressing a force that has seen repeated combat deployments since 2002," he wrote.
But the main issue, however, is when the administration will get off the pot. As Josh Rogin reported yesterday at The Cable, the White House is punting on an Afghanistan announcement until after Thanksgiving.
[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]
See Also:
- U.S. Struggles with 'Electronic Fratricide' in Afghanistan ...
- Karzai 'Wins' a 2nd Term in Afghanistan. Oh, Crap.
- Fighting Afghanistan's Dumbed-Down — and Deadly — Bombs
- Afghanistan's Oil Binge: 22 Gallons of Fuel Per Soldier Per Day ...
- NATO Wants Sim Afghanistan to Test War Plans
- Surge of Nerds Rebuilds Afghanistan
- High-Tech Brigade Heads to Afghanistan, Loaded With Gadgets ...
