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Obama to Send More Troops to Afghanistan

Around four months after request of sending 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama is reported to have agreed to send nearly 25,000 to 34,000 troops to the region as he promised to finish the job in Afghanistan.

The White House said that Obama would announced the new US policy in Afghanistan in a speech to the nation next week, marking the latest chapter in a conflict that started in October of 2001.

Presently, 70,000 American troops are deployed in Afghanistan, which, alongwith Pakistan, continues to be a hotbed for militant jihadism.

With 267 US military fatalities, this is America’s bloodiest year so far in the war-torn nation. Last year 155 and in 2007, 117 fatalities were reported.

By comparison, there have been 130 American fatalities this year in Iraq, down considerably from a peak of 904 two years ago.

In all, 5,248 American nationals have lost their lives in both conflicts.

Meanwhile, several Democrats in Congress have proposed a new surtax on wealthy Americans to pay for the troop increase, which is expected to cost anywhere from $20 -$40 billion depending on how many troops Obama eventually decides to send to the region.

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