The U.S. Army is readying plans that could increase the total force in Afghanistan by as many as 1,000 U.S. troops this spring beyond the 14,000 already in the country, senior military officials said. Military officials said that some troops, particularly at the headquarters level, might come out of Afghanistan as new forces move into the theater and that they expect the total force this spring to be about 15,000 troops. The White House might want to weigh in on any plan to send additional troops to Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials. At the time, Pentagon officials viewed the restrictions put on the campaign by the Obama White House as micromanagement. The extra capacity also increases their value to the Afghan forces.

Source: Washington Post January 21, 2018 17:26 UTC