Afstan: US defense secretary Gates nudges Canada

Rather sooner and more publicly than one might have thought--note the pretty rapid timetable for the US force buildup:

Canada should consider extension of Afghanistan mission, Gates suggests

[Update: New headline: "MacKay declines Gates's suggestion to extend Afghanistan mission"]

Gates, who arrived at Canada's main base in Kandahar on Thursday, was asked by a reporter whether Canada should continue its mission

"The countries that have partnered with the United States and Afghanistan here in [regional command] south have made an extraordinary commitment and proportionately none have worked harder or sacrificed more than the Canadians," said Gates, who arrived at Canada's main base in Kandahar on Thursday.

"They have been outstanding partners for us and all I can tell you is has been the case for a very long time, the longer we can have Canadian soldiers as our partners the better it is [emphasis added]."

Gates's comments were in response to a reporter's question on whether Canada should carry on its mission past the end of its scheduled mandate.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed that Canada would withdraw the bulk of its military forces in Afghanistan as scheduled in 2011.

CBC's David Common said Gates comments should not be considered a formal request, but that they are significant because the defence secretary is staying on in that role under Barack Obama's administration. As well, the president-elect has said getting more troops to Afghanistan is a priority.

Gates also told reporters that the Pentagon will move three brigades into Afghanistan by next summer [emphasis added], the most specific he's been on when he'd begin meeting the requests of ground commanders asking for 20,000 troops.

The extra troops are expected to be deployed to Kabul to secure the capital [actually just south and southwest of Kabul--see 2) here] before moving to Kandahar [I doubt the troops in the Kabul area will move, rather further new troops will deploy to the south], considered the epicentre of violence and where most of the 2,500 Canadian soldiers in the region are based [the personnel of the new Air Wing aren't "soldiers", Mr Common]...

He also said the mission needs to focus better on building the Afghan army and better co-operation with Kabul on security operations...

The NY Times sure got the timeframe wrong just a few days ago:

...
In all, the Pentagon is planning to add more than 20,000 troops to Afghanistan in response to a request from Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top commander in Afghanistan...But they are expected to be deployed over 12 to 18 months...

But the Washington Post got it pretty right at the end of October:

...
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of one additional combat battalion and one Army brigade, or about 4,000 troops, set to arrive in Afghanistan by January. Commanders have already requested three more combat brigades -- 10,500 to 12,000 troops -- but those reinforcements depend on further reductions from Iraq and are unlikely to arrive until spring or summer, according to senior defense officials...

More details:

...
Gates said he has no details on the expected deployments to Afghanistan next year, adding that he has not approved any orders for specific units. He said the Joint Chiefs may have identified the units, but he's not aware of those decisions.

He added that he does not know when he will be able to send the fourth requested brigade [emphasis added].

Gates and other U.S. officials have endorsed efforts to pour four combat brigades and thousands of support troops into Afghanistan to stem the spike in violence and tamp down the resurgence of the Taliban.

Officials already had announced that one unit — the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division — would go to Afghanistan in January and that they would try to meet the rest of the troop requirements as soon as possible. But military leaders have resisted disclosing which units or how quickly they would go, saying much depends on how quickly troop levels can be cut in Iraq. A brigade is about 3,500 troops...

The top Marine officer, Gen. James Conway, told The Associated Press this week that he believes there is a growing consensus that Marines could be used to fill part of the need in Afghanistan. If approved, he said, some could go there in early spring.

"It's clear that the Marines want to be in the fight, that's what you'd expect," said Gates, adding that it's clear that the security situation has greatly improved in Iraq's Anbar province, where the bulk of the Marines are. "I don't have a problem with Gen. Conway's desire to have a bigger part of the mission in Afghanistan for the Marine Corps."

He said he will wait for recommendations from his military leaders [more on the Marines here].

There are 31,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including 13,500 with the NATO-led coalition and 17,500 training Afghan troops and fighting the insurgency...

Update: More from The Times (I'd take their reporting on US plans with a bit of salt, note no mention of Marines--via Norman's Spectator):

America is planning to send at least 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan's Helmand province to help out beleaguered British troops, according to defence sources in Washington and Kabul.

Ministers are expected to examine early next year whether British reinforcements will also be sent to boost the present force of 8,100 troops in the British-controlled province...

General David McKiernan, the American commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) and the US Operation Enduring Freedom, admitted yesterday that the battles with the Taleban in Helmand and elsewhere in southern Afghanistan had run into a tactical stalemate [emphasis added], despite attritional attacks against insurgency leaders...

Under current planning, 5,000 [US troops] will go to Helmand, another 5,000 will be based in neighbouring Kandahar [emphasis added--presumably one brigade combat team to each province, with some support forces], and also in Zabul and Oruzgan provinces in the south, and the remainder will be sent to eastern Afghanistan...

The decision to send 5,000 to Helmand will lead to a restructuring of the forces in the province, with control being split between the British in the north and the US in the south...

What might happen to command arrangements at Kandahar province vis-a-vis the CF? The Americans look virtually certain to seriously outnumber us next year.