U.S. acknowledges more troops in Afghanistan than previously stated

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 11,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, thousands more than it has previously stated.

The announcement by Pentagon officials at a news conference did not represent an increase in troops in Afghanistan and came after U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed frustration with the method of counting U.S. troops in conflict zones.

The Pentagon said previously that there were roughly 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, under a cap set during President Barack Obama’s administration.

While the Pentagon said the move was a step in increasing transparency, it did not provide counts of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.

-snip-

#WORLD NEWS AUGUST 30, 2017 / 3:01 PM / 2 HOURS AGO
Idrees Ali
3 MIN READ


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-military-idUSKCN1BA2IF

[dhill926]

1. wow..how surprising....

[former9thward]

2. The army has had a "in-out, don't count" rule in Afghanistan for several years.

Troops come in for 89 days and are shipped out. If they are not in country for 90 days they don't count as actually being there. They spend a couple weeks or so someplace and are shipped back in. Repeat and repeat. Same thing in Syria and Iraq where people want to say there are "no combat troops".