Afghanistan seeks funding to increase army strength

The Afghanistan government has requested funds to increase the size of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to 120,000 by 2013.

A US Department of Defense (DoD) spokesman announced on 8 August that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was backing the plan, which is yet to be officially approved. The ANA's expansion would cost an estimated USD17 billion, he said, although that figure also takes into account the financing of ANA operations over the next five years and investment in the Afghan Air Corps.

The spokesman added that the US would seek to share the cost of building up the ANA with other NATO allies.

In April Afghan government representatives attending the NATO summit in Bucharest lobbied hard for the ANA's strength to be increased to 120,000. The ANA currently has around 65,000 troops and is on course to reach 86,000 - its original mandated strength - in 2009.

According to David Livingstone, associate fellow of the international security programme at Chatham House, investing in the ANA is the right thing to do so long as it results in NATO forces "going back into barracks" and translates into "a reduction of US forces on the ground".

Taking foreign troops out of the equation at the earliest sensible opportunity is key to restoring security, he said, while acknowledging that NATO forces would have to "continue to sit on the ANA's shoulder" at least in the medium term.

Image: Afghan National Army soldiers will increase in number to 120,000 over the next five years (PA Photo) 235 of 361 words