Afghan War Surge Begins

Admiral Michael Mullen,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,traveled to Southwest Asia this week to prepare the way for thousands more U.S. troops.A battalion of U.S. Marines was close behind him,initiating the surge President Barack Obama ordered recently.Admiral Mullen said he is concerned about the growing level of collusion between the Taliban,al-Qaida and other extremist groups in Pakistan.The Taliban are dominant in one third of the 34 Afghan provinces.
Some 16,000 U.S. troops have received deployment orders so far,part of a 30,000 troop surge that will be complemented by at least 7,000 troops from 25 other countries.Among them will be 1200 British,1140 Italian,120 Australian and 920 Georgian soldiers.France and Germany will decide on their contribution at a summit in January.Some of the surge forces could be tasked with finding Osama bin Laden.
Admiral Mullen warned that tough fighting lay ahead for the U.S. forces.Many more casualties are to be expected.The admiral was accompanied by USO entertainers for the morale of the soldiers already in the region.