Gen. David H. Petraeus disclosed yesterday that American commanders have requested the deployment of an additional 10,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year, but he said the request awaits a final decision by President Obama this fall. Petraeus acknowledged that the ratio of coalition and Afghan security forces to the population is projected through 2011 to be significantly lower than the 20 troops per 1,000 people prescribed by the Army counterinsurgency manual he helped write. "If you assume there is an insurgency throughout the country . . . you need more forces," Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command, said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said the Pentagon has not yet forwarded the troop request to the White House.

If the commanders in country are requesting more troops then there should be no wait in getting them. While there is a certain amount of exhaustion from our troops, this is the one we have to win now. Unfortunately most people have forgotten why the U.S. went into Afghanistan to begin with. It would be the worst of crimes to now desert the fight that was forced upon us 7 1/2 years ago. It is time for a troop surge in Afghanistan, the only question is how many troops should we commit?

Read the Full Story