WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A proposal to send 3,000 U.S. Marines to Afghanistan would significantly impact operations in that country, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen said during a Pentagon news conference Friday the proposal is awaiting action by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The matter of sending additional troops to Afghanistan points out the challenges NATO and U.S. forces face there, Mullen said. While a "tremendous amount of success" has been reported in Afghanistan, it has been uneven.
NATO commanders in Afghanistan report their forces had significant military impact on the Taliban in 2007, he said.
"We are in an economy-of-force operation there, and if we are able to create additional forces, we think it can have a big impact," Mullen said.
The United States deliberately decided to be careful on allocating combat power in Afghanistan.
"We do what we can in Afghanistan; we do what we must in Iraq," said a Joint Staff official speaking on background. "If we had these forces readily available, we would have sent them to Afghanistan already."
