Kandahar, Afghanistan- The US Secretary of Defense met with military leaders in Kandahar on Wednesday as he prepared to outline the plans for increasing troop levels in Afghanistan over the next year.
Secretary Gates is working with the Pentagon to send three combat brigades to commanders that are serving in Afghanistan, part of what will eventually be a four brigade increase that commanders there have request ed.
Gates remarked that troop levels in Iraq will not have to be cut to send these soldiers to Afghanistan, and he plans to send up to 20,000 soldiers in the near future to serve in Afghanistan, to bolster the forces that are already there.
Secretary Gates was scheduled to meet with General David McKierman, the US commander of NATO and US soldiers serving in Afghanistan, and also to meet and visit with US Servicemembers stationed in Kandahar.
Troop levels in Iraq will remain steady according to Secretary Gates, and he talked about the plans to deal with the Afghanistan Government in a little bit different way. “We will be dealing with the government of Afghanistan in a different manner than we are at this time,” said Secretary Gates.
