Some new US troops are in Afstan/Aussie position

I wrote this Jan. 24:

...right about now these soldiers should be arriving:

...
[A] new Army brigade, the Third Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y. ...of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. The “vast majority” of them will be sent to Logar and Wardak Provinces, adjacent to Kabul...

They have arrived:

The first deployment of a planned United States surge of up to 30,000 troops, has moved into bases in two key provinces of east Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday.

The U.S. has pledged between 20,000 and 30,000 additional troops for Afghanistan, where violence has increased markedly since Taliban-led insurgents regrouped in 2005.

The first batch, from the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division, have settled in Logar and Wardak provinces neighboring Kabul [and thus not "eastern" in the sense of being near the border with Pakistan - MC]. They are reinforcing an existing deployment of the 101st Airborne, "the Screaming Eagles."

"The brigade is the first element of its size to deploy exclusively into these two provinces, increasing the U.S. presence there by thousands," U.S. forces said in a statement.

A typical U.S. brigade consists of around 3,500 soldiers.

U.S. forces said key members of the brigade, who started to arrive in late November 2008, have met with community leaders in Logar and Wardak as part of a wider strategy to engage with local systems of governance.

President Barack Obama, who has pledged to make Afghanistan the cornerstone of his foreign policy, is expected to approve the remaining troop increase, which has been in the pipeline since last year.

This brigade combat team is not part of the troop increase President Obama is considering.

As for Aussies:

Australia would consider sending additional troops to Afghanistan if its NATO allies also increase their contributions and develop a plan for victory against the insurgents, Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Wednesday.

Mr. Fitzgibbon signalled that Australia was open to help after U.S. President Barack Obama made the war in Afghanistan a major priority for his new administration....

Mr. Fitzgibbon said the Obama administration had not asked Australia to increase the 1,000 Australian troops already deployed in the chaotic Central Asia nation.

Australia would consider such a request, but the response would hinge on several conditions, including that “the international partners have the will and a plan to win,” Mr. Fitzgibbon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

The risks to Australian troops would also have to be considered.

“We'd need to be convinced that others are prepared to do more and doing more from our side of the world would make a difference,” Mr. Fitzgibbon said.

“Even doubling our troops in Afghanistan will make no difference if others are not prepared to do more and there is no overarching plan for better success,” he added.

“A substantial number of countries would have to do substantially more [emphasis added],” he said...

Not that likely, I'd say, what with the two "substantials". But maybe the new president can work some magic.

Update: ABC News video of US troops here.