© AP Photo/ Aaron FavilaUS soldiers patrol the perimeter of a weapons cache four miles of the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan
The Pentagon has deployed approximately 3000 additional troops to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under US President Donald Trump's revised strategy for the war-torn country.Now the Pentagon is planning to send to Afghanistan around 1000 more combat 'advisers,' a large number of drones and other types of weaponry by the end of January to bolster efforts against the Taliban and the Daesh terrorist groups, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.Mohammad Radmanesh, Afghan Defense Ministry deputy spokesperson, told Sputnik that the additional foreign troops will help Afghanistan counter terrorism.
"These servicemen will help train Afghan Security Forces, advise commanders on the tactical and operational levels of war, provide financial support, instruct on handling advanced technology to destroy enemy positions in caves and underground tunnels," Radmanesh said, adding that the
US will continue assisting Afghanistan until Afghan Security Forces "regain [their] feet."But some military experts note that increasing the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan will not be effective unless leaders pursue the objective of enhancing security and establishing stability in the entire region, as well as eliminating the Taliban and Daesh. Afghan political analyst Mohammad Hashemite Haikalzadah believes that more foreign troops in the country will only fuel the ongoing 17-year US war. No one but the country's own leadership has the ability to change the situation, and the foreign military presence in Afghanistan should depart the beleaguered nation.
"Equipping and training Afghan troops by the US, in order to counter terrorism, will not be effective until those in power change their policies," the expert observed.In August,
Trump announced a new US Afghanistan strategy, in which he pledged to continue Washington's support for the current Afghan government and its military. Trump also declared that the authority of US troops to prosecute independent missions targeting terrorists in
Afghanistan would be expanded.
The US has been in Afghanistan since October 2001. During this campaign, some 2,350 American soldiers have been killed, and over 20,000 injured. As of September 30, 2017, there were 15,282 US soldiers in the country, as well as at least 1,200 civilian employees of the Defense Ministry.
Comment: The death count in a horrific Saturday bombing attack in Kabul
has risen to 95, while at least 158 have been injured, many seriously according to updated reports.
Saturday's detonation of an ambulance packed with explosives on a busy city street in the Afghan capital is the deadliest in recent years, occurring alongside several other recent attacks, including the storming of a well-guarded hotel in Kabul popular with westerners that saw 22 killed, according to reports.
As hospitals struggled with the influx of wounded and forensics experts worked to identify those killed, officials suggested that casualties were likely to rise, according to the New York Times.
New data released by the Pentagon has revealed that in 2017, some 4,300 bombs
were dropped on the country, doubling the amount of deadly attacks over the previous two years.
...
Following an announcement by US President Donald Trump detailing new Pentagon strategies in southeast Asia and Afghanistan, current bombing raids on insurgents not aligned with the US-backed government in Kabul have risen significantly.
"Airstrikes are up significantly in 2017 primarily due to the South Asia policy which President Trump has signed and allowing us to go after both the Taliban and [Daesh] where they are,'' stated Resolute Support Mission (RS) Public Affairs Director Thomas Gresback.
The Trump upsurge will "allow us to pursue them. The rules of engagement are now different," added Gresback, cited by Tolonews.com.
Alongside the US military surge in Afghanistan, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently announced that the military bloc will deploy an additional 3,000 so-called trainers to guide a Pentagon-sponsored Afghan army that relies almost entirely on outside support.
Stoltenberg asserted that NATO members are committed to preventing the establishment of safe havens for insurgents, as the US war in Afghanistan enters its 17th year with no resolution in sight.
Comment: The death count in a horrific Saturday bombing attack in Kabul has risen to 95, while at least 158 have been injured, many seriously according to updated reports. New data released by the Pentagon has revealed that in 2017, some 4,300 bombs were dropped on the country, doubling the amount of deadly attacks over the previous two years.