The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
September 4, 2009

US Extends Afghan Tours for 5,000 Troops
----------------------------------------



The bombing comes as the Obama administration considers plans to order
thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. The New York Times
reports the proposals under consideration include a so-called “low risk”
option that would send 45,000 troops. On Thursday, Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said he was open to a troop increase and defended the
continued occupation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “I absolutely do not think it is time to
get out of Afghanistan. And I think that the notion that you can conduct
a purely counter-terrorist kind of campaign and do it from a distance
simply does not accord with reality.”

Gates’s comments came hours after the Pentagon said it will extend the
tours of some 3,000 soldiers in Afghanistan for up to two months.



.