More NATO Troops Proposed for Afghanistan

NATO TROOPS: A British soldier (C) of the 1st batallion of the Royal Welsh patrols jointly with French soldiers of the 21st RIMA in the streets of Showal in Nad-e-Ali district, Southern Afghanistan, in Helmand Province. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

More troops are needed in Afghanistan to prepare for the drawback of troops in 2011, and Gen. David Petraeus has asked for 2,000 more specialized troops to aid the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, NATO officials said.

The 140,000 troops in the country are in need of 750 additional trainers for the Afghan security forces, which will take over when NATO troops go back home.

Within one year the Afghan security force needs to quadruple, from 100,000 to 400,000 troops. The country needs bomb specialists to neutralize roadside bombs, which cause a large portion of NATO and civilian casualties. NATO officials said none of its 28 member-states has many specialists available, and it is unclear which state will provide specialists.