Washington: US military planners now think they may need to send more than double the number of extra troops initially believed needed to help fight the war in Afghanistan.
The buildup in the increasingly violent campaign could amount to more than 20,000 troops rather than the originally planned 10,000, two senior defense officials said today on condition of anonymity because no new figures have been approved.
The new calculation reflects growing requests from field commanders in recent weeks for aviation units, engineers and other skills to support the fighting units, the officials said.
Officials had been saying for months that they needed more people to train Afghan security forces and two more combat brigades _ a total of some 10,000 people.
Commanders later increased that to the trainers and three combat brigades _ or some 15,000, when extra support is included.
Now, military planners calculate that the number may have to grow yet again by another 5,000 to 10,000 support troops.
They would be helicopter units, intelligence teams, engineers to build more bases, medical teams and others to support the fight in the undeveloped nation, where forces have to work around rugged terrain and a lack of infrastructure.
