U.S., Afghanistan pledge boost in soldiers, military equipment

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and Afghanistan plan to expand the Afghan army by up to 12,000 soldiers and accelerate shipments of tens of thousands of M-16 rifles, armored Humvees and other arms by the spring to counter a growing threat from Taliban insurgents and al-Qaida fighters, U.S. and Afghan commanders said Tuesday.

The Afghan army, now 50,000 strong, expects to reach its target strength of 70,000 soldiers by the middle of next year, Afghan and U.S. officials say. Under the new plan, it would then begin recruiting as many as 12,000 additional soldiers, according to Lt. Gen. Sher Mohammed Karimi, the army's operations chief.

While U.S. officials cite the achievements of the Afghan military, the force has historically suffered from high attrition rates. It has also lacked trainers and been hobbled by old weaponry, Afghan defense officials say.

During a visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was met at every stop with urgent requests — from Afghan generals, U.S. commanders and tribal leaders — for more U.S. funding, troops, equipment, and even an airfield and a hospital.

In an appearance with Gates, President Hamid Karzai also made a broad public appeal for increased assistance.

This year has seen the highest overall level of violence in Afghanistan since the U.S. military led a campaign to oust the Taliban government in late 2001.

Suicide bombings and cross-border strikes have increased, and more foreign fighters affiliated with al-Qaida are infiltrating Afghanistan, according to Western and Afghan officials. Gates witnessed some of the violence firsthand Tuesday as his motorcade drove to the airport past a site where, about an hour earlier, a suicide car bombing had killed two Afghan civilians and wounded 15 others. Elsewhere, another suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a minibus carrying Afghan soldiers south of Kabul, killing at least 12, officials told The Associated Press today.

But in a visit to the rugged eastern province of Khost, a long-volatile region on the Pakistani border, Gates met with U.S. commanders who described a dramatic drop in attacks.

The Pentagon is also working to speed the flow of weaponry and aircraft to Afghan forces. The weapons include 5,000 U.S. M-16 rifles, due to arrive this month, with an additional 10,000 each month after that, for a total of 60,000, said Army Maj. Gen. Robert Cone, head of the training command.