U.S. Plans Afghan Troop Increase Before Elections

Washington had initially said it would send one brigade in January and three later in the year.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday he expected to move five combat brigades into Afghanistan next year and wanted at least some of them in place before the country's election next fall, stressing this was a top priority.

Washington had initially said it would send one brigade in January and three later in the year.

Violence in Afghanistan has surged to levels not seen since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled the country's former Taliban rulers, prompting commanders to call for more troops.

"We will deploy an additional brigade combat team in January," Gates said after a meeting of defense ministers from eight countries that have forces in southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold.

"Beyond that we've had some very preliminary discussions. We don't have a timetable at this point for the additional four brigade combat teams that (top NATO commander) Gen. (David) McKiernan has asked for," he told a news conference in the eastern Canadian town of Cornwallis.

Each brigade has about 3,500 soldiers.

Gates said the meeting had discussed trying to put as many troops as possible into the country before the presidential election there, saying a successful vote was the international community's most important objective for Afghanistan in 2009.

"The notion that things are out of control in Afghanistan or that we're sliding toward a disaster I think is far too pessimistic," he said.

"We are clearly going to be putting more troops in and I think that the prospects for being able to have these elections successfully are good."

Gates called on Afghan authorities to play their part too.

"We all recognize the need for the Afghan government -- with our help -- to demonstrate some progress over the course of 2009," he said.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says he wants to focus more on the Afghan war and plans to persuade other nations to send more soldiers.

But Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Obama should look to other NATO members first, rather than turning to the other seven nations that took part in the Cornwallis meeting: Canada, Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Estonia and Romania.

"The reality is there are other NATO doors that President-elect Obama should be knocking on first," he told the news conference. Canada has long complained that the nations with troops in southern Afghanistan are bearing a disproportionate share of the military burden.

"There is an enormous amount of goodwill that has been engendered by President-elect Obama that he might be willing to spend for a cause that he clearly believes in," said MacKay.

Many NATO nations insist on stationing their troops in other quieter parts of Afghanistan and strictly limit what kind of combat activities they can carry out.