4,000 soldiers from 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Washington by the end of July. The additional 5,000 soldiers will be from an undetermined unit. This will increase the number of US forces in theatre from 36,000 to 56,000. These new units will focus on southern and eastern Afghanistan. This convergence was timed to support the presidential elections in August 2009 [51].
At the end of July 2009, ISAF consisted of 64,500 soldiers from 42 countries, including 28 NATO member countries, as well as 26 PRTs. The largest contingents in the coalition are the United States (29,950 ISAF forces, including Operation Enduring Freedom forces, the total is 48,250 soldiers), Great Britain (9,000), Germany (4,050), France (3,160), Canada (2,800), Italy (2,795) and Poland (2,000). The country is divided into five regional commands (RCs): RC Capital in Kabul, RC South in Kandahar, RC Vestas in Heart, RC North in Mazar-e-Sharif, and RC East in Bagram. The commands of these sectors are divided among different nations with the French controlling RC Capitol, the Dutch in RC South, the Italians in RC Vestas, the Germans in RC North, and the US in RC East. With most of the Taliban threats in the south and east, these two commands consist of 29,400 and 19,900 soldiers respectively. RC Capital commands 6,200 soldiers, RC North has 5,600 and RC Vestas has 3,400 [52].
By the end of January 2008, two reports appeared that questioned the commitment of US and Canadian forces. The first report came from the Afghanistan Study Group (ASG) of Centre for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, an independent organization that examines previous actions of the executive and legislative branches; the second report came from Canadian experts under the direction of former deputy prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs, John Manley. The ASG report asserted that the US had engaged in the conflict with too few forces, too little money, without a coordinated international coalition, and without a solid strategy. One of the recommendations was to create a US envoy to Afghanistan, who would coordinate US, NATO and UN assistance. Hamid Karzai did not agree with this, due to the large authority that this one person would hold. ASG also proposed a formation of an «Eminent Persons Group» to develop a new, common, long-term strategy. It also recommended utilizing more NATO troops in the police and army training mission as well as focusing on reducing civilian casualties. The Manley report recommended that Canadian forces remain in Afghanistan on the condition that the Kandahar contingent is increased by 1,000 ISAF soldiers and coordination is improved [53].
The mission in Afghanistan is a high priority for both the US and NATO. For the first time, NATO hosted a meeting on the topic at a ministerial level in February 2009 in Krakow. 40 ISAF countries sent representatives, to include Afghan Defence Minister Rahim Wardak, who presented some of the issues his country faced and appealed for help. A few days before the meeting, its profile was amplified by the attendance of US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. John Craddock [54]. Secretary General Scheffer maintained that NATO could not accept a defeat in Afghanistan and that the military operations needed to also help the civilian population [55].
The United States continued development of its new strategy in March 2009, when Richard Holbrook, the US envoy to Afghanistan, attended meetings with allies in Brussels. There were several new programs presented to the NATO Secretary General and other ambassadors. One of these was the enlargement of the Afghan police force to combat the safety issues plaguing the country. The EU and UN programmes of crop transition from poppies to other income- generating crops were also presented [56].
President Barack Obama presented his long- awaited new strategy for the US in Afghanistan and Pakistan on 27 March 2009 [57]. The latest reports showed that Al Qaeda continues to plan new attacks on the US from their safe houses within Pakistan. The planners of the 11 September attacks continue to operate in this area. If the government of Afghanistan were to fail, this would allow Afghanistan to again be a terrorist haven. Therefore, the future of Afghanistan is directly linked with the future of Pakistan.
President Obama stated that the purpose of US forces in Afghanistan was not to control the country or dictate its future. Instead, the purpose is to confront and defeat Al Qaeda in both countries. In order to improve the military situation, the governments and economies of both countries require international help. Terrorism is a major problem for Pakistan and has already claimed thousands of
