Pentagon vraagt Obama extra troepen langer in Afghanistan te houden

Het Pentagon heeft Obama gevraagd om de aanwezigheid van de soldaten die hij als versterking naar Afghanistan heeft gestuurd tot de herfst van 2012 te verlengen.

Dat meldt The Wall Street Journal. De Amerikaanse president had in december 2009 nog 33.000 Amerikaanse soldaten extra naar Afghanistan gestuurd in de strijd tegen de Taliban.

Met de troepenversterking bevinden zich nu ongeveer 100.000 Amerikaanse soldaten in het land.

"The military is asking President Barack Obama to hold off on ending the Afghanistan troop surge until the fall of 2012, in a proposal that would keep a large portion of the 33,000 extra forces in the country through the next two warm-weather fighting seasons."

The wall Street Journal: Deadline to End Surge: Pentagon: Wait Until Fall 2012 to End Afghanistan Troop Boost

Over Amerikaans vertrek Afghanistan

President Barack Obama’s top general in Afghanistan has given a range of options for withdrawing American forces as a July deadline for starting the drawdown approaches. And an early hint of some troops cuts began to emerge Thursday.

Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has long been expected to give Obama multiple options for how to begin bringing U.S. forces home.

The Washington Post: Obama, top US commander in Afghanistan discuss troop withdrawal; Initial troop cuts emerge