More Forces for Afghanistan
Obama will send 17,000 U.S. troops.
President Obama has decided to send an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help stabilize the situation there in preparation for new elections scheduled for Aug. 20.
A senior administration official said that the troops involved in the Afghan surge would include a brigade of Marines and an Army Striker brigade, as well as relevant support forces. Obama's decision to send the troops is effective Tuesday, said the official, who asked for anonymity when discussing details of the plan.
The official said that the president decided to send the new troops in response to a request from the American commander in the country, Gen. David McKiernan. The president agreed to the request in recognition that the security situation in Afghanistan is "deteriorating," the official said, with Taliban forces rebuilding and the civilian government's rule becoming increasingly ineffective. One fear on the minds of U.S. officials was that Taliban resistance was only likely to increase as Afghanistan thaws out in the spring, so that the new troop surge would be well-timed to prepare for a possible increase in insurgent activity.
The administration official said that the decision to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan now comes as an internal review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan has just begun. The review is expected to last two months; the administration official said it was possible that after the review is completed, Obama could decide to send more troops beyond the new 17,000 contingent. During the election campaign, Obama talked about the possibility of sending up to 30,000 more American troops into Afghanistan.
The official said that a planned reduction in U.S. troop strength in Iraq would help enable the White House to increase force levels in Afghanistan, but declined to say whether any of the troops now being moved into Afghanistan would be going there directly from Iraq. The official added that Bruce Riedel, a former CIA and National Security Council official who played a prominent role advising the Obama transition team on Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been brought onto the White House staff to lead the team working on the Afghan policy review.
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Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.
Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.
Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."
Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.
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