The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan may look to replace desk jockeys with gun-toters while keep troop levels even in the Taliban-infested war zone, The Washington Times reports.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal is preparing a major strategy review to be sent to the White House shortly, and while some advisers have suggested he request as many as 21,000 more troops, Pentagon chief Robert Gates has been downplaying the idea of building on top of the 68,000-strong force already committed there by the end of the year.
McChrystal is considering a 12 percent rollover from support personnel to combat troops, a defense official told The Washington Times. .
"Among the things Secretary Gates asked General McChrystal to look at [in his strategy review] was the staff he was inheriting to make sure all his personnel were being used to maximum effect. If we had the means of getting people from behind desks and out into the field, we should take a close look at that," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell confirmed to The Times.
Some military analysts are questioning whether 68,000 troops is enough for Afghanistan, which is reeling from insurgent attacks on population bases. U.S. troops are reportedly conducting house-to-house missions to sniff out terrorist fighters.
On Thursday, Gates said any talk of further building up the force structure in Afghanistan is premature.
"Though there has been a lot of reporting recently about what General McChrystal may ask for, I can tell you its premature to speculate on that. Any future resources requests will be considered separately and subsequent to his assessment of the security situation," he said.
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