Troops needed to establish security baseline: Pentagon

The Pentagon Tuesday said it needs additional forces to establish a baseline of security in Afghanistan.

“The Secretary (of Defense) for some time now has been talking about his belief that the commander needs additional forces in Afghanistan as well. There needs to be established a baseline of security in Afghanistan,” Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell told reporters.

The primary focus of any new move in Afghanistan, Morrell said is to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a safe haven for terrorists, a place from which they can plot and launch attacks against US and its allies.

“So additional forces are needed to ensure that it does not revert to that status,” he said.

Referring to comments made by White House in this regard, he said an overall strategy will encompass far more than the military, that there will be political, economic components to this, additional civil support.

“This will be a multifaceted approach to dealing with the problems we face in Afghanistan. Everybody acknowledges this cannot be done with troops alone, but troops are essential at least in the near term to try to reverse the slide in some parts of the country in security,” he said.