Petraeus wants US troops surge in Afghanistan

10 Dec 2008, 6:50 pm   -   Source: AFP
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General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia and credited with boosting security in Iraq, has recommended a major troop surge in Afghanistan.

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General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia and credited with boosting security in Iraq, has recommended a major troop surge in Afghanistan.
   
Petraeus said he had "already made recommendations" for an almost doubling of US troops in Afghanistan based on requests from General David McKiernan, the top commander of US and NATO troops in the central Asian country.
   
Petraeus is widely credited for turning around a Sunni insurgency in western Iraq with a 30,000 troop "surge" to secure Baghdad and its environs during his tenure as commander of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq.
   
Many hope that Petraeus will bring his counter-insurgency expertise to bear in Afghanistan, which has seen a spike in violence from a resurgent Taliban in the last two years, despite the presence of 70,000 NATO and US troops.
   
However, in a speech in Rome Tuesday, Petraeus cautioned that the "situation remains fragile" in Iraq despite unquestionable progress.

"No one disputes at this point that there has been substantial progress in Iraq," he said at the American Studies Centre in Rome. "But the situation does remain fragile."
   
"The level of violence went up where we went on the offensive," notably during last year's "surge", he told an audience made up largely of Italian military including Mosca Moschini, former chairman of the European Union Military Committee.
   
"Today it's the lowest in five and a half years," he said at the start of a two-day visit to Rome, adding that the situation is "less fragile than it was in May."

"Sensational, high-profile attacks remain very much of concern for us," said Petraeus, 55, who took over the Central Command (Centcom) in October.

"The only way to (ensure security) is to live with the people. You have to live in the neighbourhood," Petraeus said. "Once they feel secure they will tell you where the weapons and explosives are."
   
Italy, which contributed 3,000 troops to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, withdrew its forces in December 2006.
   
Rome however still has about 2,400 soldiers as part of the NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said after meeting with Petraeus that Italy would not increase its troop levels in Afghanistan, but Rome would send more military trainers for the Afghan security forces.
   
"We think that more troops are needed in Afghanistan, but we also think that at this time we are among the countries that are already heavily engaged" in Afghanistan, he said.

McKiernan is seeking a total US force of 55,000 to 60,000 troops from the current level of 32,000, the daily USA Today reported on Monday.

The United States is considering sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Afghanistan next year, most to be diverted from Iraq.

Petraeus was to meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi later Tuesday.
   
On Wednesday the US general was to meet Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

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