3,000 Marines May Head To Afghanistan

By THE TAMPA TRIBUNE | Tbo.com
Published: January 10, 2008

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WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan in April to bolster efforts to hold off another expected Taliban spring offensive,military officials said Wednesday.

The move represents a shift in Pentagon thinking after months of repeated insistence that the United States was not inclined to fill the need for as many as 7,500 more troops that commanders in Afghanistan have sought.

Instead, Defense Secretary Robert Gates pressed NATO allies to contribute the extra forces.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that a proposal will go before Gates on Friday that would send a ground and air Marine contingent as well as a Marine battalion, together totaling more than 3,000 forces, to southern Afghanistan for a "one-time, seven-month deployment."

Gates, he said, will want to review the request, and is not likely to make a final decision Friday.

The Associated Press