Already under fire for increasing troop levels and funding for Iraq, President Bush said Thursday he would do the same for Afghanistan by sending an extra 3,200 troops and $11.8 billion.
“As we implement a new strategy in Iraq, we are also taking new steps to defeat the terrorists and extremists in Afghanistan,” Bush told the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. “I’m asking Congress for $11.8 billion over the next two years to help this young democracy survive. I’ve ordered an increase in U.S. forces in Afghanistan.”
The increase will be accomplished by extending the stay of 3,200 troops in Afghanistan for another four months, even after the arrival of replacement forces. There are already 27,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, as well as 32,000 from NATO nations.
Bush said extra resources are needed in Afghanistan for the same reason they are needed in Iraq — to counter a major surge in violence during 2006.
“Across Afghanistan last year, the number of roadside bomb attacks almost doubled, direct fire attacks on international forces almost tripled and suicide bombings grew nearly five-fold,” the president said. “These escalating attacks were part of a Taliban offensive that made 2006 the most violent year in Afghanistan since the liberation of the country.”
Democrats responded to Bush’s speech by suggesting that the president has been so preoccupied with Iraq that Afghanistan is in danger of sliding into chaos.
“While ignoring Afghanistan, President Bush has focused on escalating the war in Iraq,” Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton said. “The Bush administration took its eye off the ball in Afghanistan, leaving a deteriorating situation to worsen and Osama bin Laden on the loose more than five years after 9/11.”
Bush said U.S.-led forces have launched devastating attacks against Taliban terrorists in recent weeks. Although the overall level of fighting always slows during the winter, the president vowed to step up attacks after the snows melt.
“This spring there is going to be a new offensive in Afghanistan, and it’s going to be a NATO offensive,” he said. “That’s part of our strategy — relentless in our pressure. We will not give in to murderers and extremists.”
