support troops. this story says that this deployment is "separate from" mcchrystal's request for additional combat troops, but it would seem to be a necessary first step if the president was going to approve the additional troops.
the administration just isn't talking about it. a possible explanation could be that the surge increase will be approved, but they are putting off the actual announcement as long as they reasonably can since their base is more than likely going to lose their minds if the send 40K more soldiers into afghanistan.
Obama quietly deploying 13,000 more US troops to AfghanistanMove is separate from Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal's request to increase troop levelsPresident Barack Obama is quietly deploying an extra 13,000 troops to Afghanistan, an unannounced move that is separate from a request by the US commander in the country for even more reinforcements.
The extra 13,000 is part of a gradual shift in priority since Obama became president away from Iraq to Afghanistan.
The White House and the Pentagon both announced earlier this year that the number of US troops in Afghanistan was to be raised by 21,000, bringing the total at present to 62,000, with the aim of 68,000 by the end of the year.
But the Washington Post, based on conversations with Pentagon officials, said that on top of those an extra 13,000 "enablers" are also being deployed. They are mainly engineers, medical staff, intelligence officers and military police. About 3,000 of them are specialists in explosives, being sent to try to combat the growing fatality rate from roadside bombs.
The deployment of such non-combat troops is in line with the professed aim of the new US commander, General Stanley McChrystal, to try to win the hearts and minds of the Afghanistan population.
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