US Forces Surge into Afghanistan

It seems that we are going to finally focus on Afghanistan and start to shift away from Iraq.

The U.S. is preparing to pour at least 20,000 extra troops into southern Afghanistan to cope with a Taliban insurgency that is fiercer than NATO leaders expected.

The new troops will augment the 12,500 NATO soldiers — mainly British, Canadian and Dutch — in what amounts to an Afghan version of the surge in Iraq.

New construction at Kandahar Air Field foreshadows the upcoming infusion of American power. Runways and housing are being built, along with two new U.S. outposts in Taliban-held regions of Kandahar province.

I guess these newely inserted Captains and Lieutenants are going to have to befriend a whole new set of tribal leaders and attend a whole new set of Tribal Councils.