WASHINGTON, Jan 15: US President George Bush on Tuesday approved the deployment of 3,200 additional American troops to Afghanistan in the spring of 2008, the Pentagon said.

“This extraordinary, one time deployment” will enhance the capability of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan to repulse an expected Taliban offensive in the spring, Pentagon officials said.

The troops will also be used for training the Afghan National Security Forces.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates had sent the request for additional deployed to the White House on Monday.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force is demanding 5,000-6,000 additional troops for Afghanistan from member states of the alliance but so far no state came forward to meet the demand, forcing Washington to send its own troops.

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will deploy approximately 2,200 service members under ISAF command to conduct full-spectrum operations in Afghan provinces.

The US Defence Department noted that this deployment, of approximately seven months duration, will temporarily fill a standing ISAF request for a manoeuvre force in southern Afghanistan.

Additionally, a Marine battalion will deploy approximately 1,000 personnel to assist in the training and development of Afghan National Security Forces under the auspices of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Washington hopes that these additional forces will enable the acceleration and strengthening of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police capabilities.

“This temporary US deployment reflects the continued US commitment to Afghanistan security and the development of the Afghan National Security Forces,” said a Pentagon official.

“As a member of the Nato alliance, the United States is doing its part to ensure ISAF has the forces necessary to ensure the hard-fought gains accumulated during the past six years by the Afghans and Nato are made irreversible,” the official said.

He assured that in the run-up to Nato’s April 2-4 Bucharest Summit, the US Defence Department will work intensively with allies and partners to ensure all outstanding ISAF requirements are filled and the need for future extraordinary deployments by the US or any ally and partner is minimised.

AFP adds from Brussels

NATO CHIEF THANKS US: Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels thanked the United States on Tuesday for sending 3,200 extra troops to Afghanistan, where the alliance is battling a Taliban-led insurgency.

“The secretary general expressed his satisfaction and thanked” US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who called Nato’s top civilian representative a few hours before the decision was announced in Washington, a Nato spokeswoman said.

Scheffer added that “he hoped the extra American deployment would be followed by the deployment of forces from other countries” that are members of the 26-nation military alliance, she said.

Nato commanders, backed by the United States, have regularly called for extra troops, even though the force the alliance leads there grew from around 33,000 in January 2007 to some 42,000 in December, according to official figures.—AFP