Escalation

10,000 More Troops to Afghanistan?

Petraeus says commanders are requesting backup to combat Taliban.

President Obama has already ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan since taking office, but according to General David Petraeus, commanders on the ground are asking for up to 10,000 more to aid in the fight against Taliban forces. "If you assume there is an insurgency throughout the country," General Petraeus told a Senate panel yesterday, "you need more forces." Underscoring the threat the insurgents pose, a group of four Taliban suicide bombers led a sophisticated attack on a government office in Kandahar yesterday, killing 13. If the additional 10,000 troops are approved for Afghanistan, a move Obama has been hesitant to sign off on, total forces would increase to 78,000 next year.