US looks to NATO to get surge to 40,000

NY Times:

The United States is scrambling to coax NATO allies to send 10,000 additional troops to Afghanistan as part of President Obama’s strategy for the region. Those countries appear willing to provide fewer than half that number, American and allied officials said Wednesday.

NATO members and other foreign allies have expressed reluctance to send more soldiers because of the Afghan war’s growing unpopularity in their countries and increasing concerns over corruption in President Hamid Karzai’s government.

The Obama administration views a substantial contribution from its allies as a way to keep the American troop increase lower and blunt domestic political criticism of the Afghan war. It would also allow the administration to come close to the military’s request for 40,000 additional troops without relying totally on the already stretched American armed forces.

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With the 34,000 additional troops the US is sending, we will probably be lucky to get 6,000 ,ore from NATO, although the NATO ministers have expressed support for the surge more vigorously than the Obama administration so far. Unfortunately, the NATO forces have mostly been willing to watch the US forces fight in recent years.

We need more troops to get the force to space ratio to a point where we can protect the population and cut off enemy movement to contact.