U.S. President George Bush wants to maintain a high level of troops in Afghanistan for possible heavy fighting against the Taliban this spring.
He said 3,200 U.S. troops of the 173rd Airborne Brigade currently in Italy will have their tour extended and will be deployed to Afghanistan, rather than Iraq as originally planned.
"These forces and funds are going to help President (Hamid) Karzai defeat common enemies," Bush said.
The reinforcements will replace troops from the 10th Mountain Division Brigade who are due to leave Afghanistan in May, meaning U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan will remain at 27,000, the highest since the invasion of 2001.
The 173rd brigade is expected to stay in Afghanistan for up to a year.
In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday, Bush also said he plans to ask Congress for US$11.8 billion in funding over the next two years to support efforts.
"In Afghanistan we saw how terrorists and extremists can use safe havens in a failed state to bring death and destruction to our people here at home," Bush said.
"We must not allow them to re-establish the safe haven they lost in Afghanistan."
Bush chided NATO nations for attaching caveats to troops and refusing to send soldiers to the volatile south -- where most of Canada's 2,300 troops are stationed. He said that when commanders on the ground say they need additional help, NATO nations must step up.
The very principle NATO was founded on, Bush said, states that an attack on one is an attack on all.
NATO, U.S. and Taliban commanders have warned of a surge in fighting in the spring when the snow melts and mountain passes open up. The past year has been the bloodiest since the hard-line Islamists were ousted by the U.S.-led coalition in 2001.
"This spring there's going to be a new offensive in Afghanistan, it's going to be a NATO offensive, and that's part of our strategy -- relentless in our pressure," Bush said.
He said the U.S. is engaged in a long-term ideological struggle in Afghanistan that has the forces of "moderation and liberty" pitted against the forces of "destruction and extremism."
But progress is being made in Afghanistan, Bush said, noting that Afghanistan now has a democratically elected government and president, girls are allowed to go to school, and education and health care are more widely available than ever before.
He said more than 4.6 million refugees have returned home to Afghanistan, marking "one of the largest return movements in history.
He also unveiled a five-pronged strategy for Afghanistan, listing the following five areas of focus:
- Helping President Hamid Karzai increase the size of Afghan security forces from 61,000 to 80,000 and the Afghan army from 32,000 to 70,000 by the end of 2008, as well as setting up specialized Afghan military units;
- Strengthening the mission by convincing more NATO countries to become involved;
- Helping develop Afghanistan's rural economy by creating jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities and increasing road access;
- Reversing poppy cultivation, convicting drug dealers, setting up mobile poppy eradication units and creating alternative options for rural Afghans trying to earn a living.
- Helping fight corruption in the justice system and government, and train lawmakers.
