"U.S. may cut Afghan force size
Despite al-Qaida hunt, numbers may decrease after elections" (in Afghanistan) !!!

KABUL, Afghanistan - The United States, which has increased troops numbers in Afghanistan to hunt for Osama bin Laden and other militants, may cut their number after the country holds elections, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday.
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“We’ve ramped up our presence here a little bit anticipating and trying to ensure that we have no more violence as we head towards elections,” Myers said, after arriving in Kabul from Iraq for a first-hand look at military operations.

“So we’re a little stronger, a little beefier than we have been. That does ebb and flow,” he told reporters travelling with him. “It’s quite likely we could go back down to lower numbers.

“We will see how events unfold. I think generally most of the country is pretty secure as a matter of fact,” he added.
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Violence in the north and south and huge logistical challenges forced Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to postpone elections from June to September.

Myers added that increased troop strength in Iraq, where fighting in recent weeks has been the bloodiest since Saddam Hussein was ousted a year ago, would not reduce the availability of U.S. forces for operations in Afghanistan.

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“There will be ongoing operations,” Myers said, referring to Pakistan’s military in the border area. “I’m not sure they are engaged right this minute but I think that you can anticipate that it won’t be too long before they are engaged again.""

Pakistan organizes the Taliban and sells nuclear technology around the world, then fights one battle, and they are major non Nato allies. Maybe they'll fight another battle if we let them into Nato.

by the way the current beefy force numbers 15,500. The 135,000 in Iraq would have had nothing to do given how peaceful Afghanistan is.