Gates vows aid against Afghan roadside bombs

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug 31, 2009 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged Monday more equipment and surveillance to protect troops against the roadside bombs that are claiming so many lives in Afghanistan.

"We are in the process of putting significant additional surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities," Gates told reporters as he toured a Lockheed-Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas where F-35 fighter jets are built.


Gates said additional material "worked well for us in Iraq in dealing with the IED (improvised explosive device) problem. We're hoping it's going to work in Afghanistan as well.

"I am concerned about getting assets in Afghanistan to help us deal with the IED problem," the Pentagon chief said, adding that more all-terrain vehicles would be sent out in October.

His remarks came as General Stanley McChrystal, who assumed command of NATO and US forces in June, delivered a long-awaited review of the situation in Afghanistan.

In it McChrystal urged an expansion of Afghan security forces and a revamped counter-insurgency strategy to reverse "serious" setbacks.

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," he said.

Gates said that while there was "a lot of gloom and doom going around," McChrystal's assessment was a realistic one.

He said there was "no question that we have a tough fight in front of us" in the face of a seemingly strengthening insurgency -- 2009 has already been a record-breaking year for the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

However, Gates said there were positives to be drawn from boosted allied efforts to combat the insurgency.

"There are more European and partner troops in place now. There are nearly 37,000 partner nation troops in Afghanistan," he said, adding that the fact the August 20 election took place at all in the war-wracked country was "an important thing."

August has proved to be the deadliest single month for coalition troops since their arrival in Afghanistan in 2001.

According to the independent Internet site icasualities.org, at least 306 coalition troops have lost their lives since the beginning of the year, up from 294 in 2008. Many of the casualties have been the result of roadside bombs.

US military commanders in Afghanistan reportedly told Richard Holbrooke, US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan this month that they did not have enough troops to do their job.

Obama ordered an extra 21,000 troops to Afghanistan earlier this year. There are currently about 62,000 American forces in the country.


(c) 2009 AFP
by Shaun Tandon