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Afghan war likely needs more U.S. troops: Mullen

WASHINGTON
Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:29pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will probably need to deploy more troops to Afghanistan, despite almost doubling the size of its force there this year, the top U.S. military officer said on Tuesday.

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"A properly resourced counterinsurgency probably means more forces," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee. He did not say how many more forces would be required.

The United States currently has 62,000 troops in Afghanistan and that figure is expected to rise to 68,000 by the end of the year. There were around 32,000 U.S. troops in the country at the start of the year.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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