IRAQ - More US Troops for Iraq & Afghanistan.

President George W. Bush is to send 8,200 more US troops to Iraq and Afghanistan - a move which will cost $3.2 bn. The Pentagon will send a brigade of 3,500 troops to Afghanistan to focus on training Afghan security forces. The move comes on the heels of the president's decision to extend the tours of a separate group of 3,500 soldiers in preparation for the Taliban's spring offensive, which the US and NATO expect to be tougher than previous years.

White House spokesman for national security Gordon Johndroe on March 12 said; "The additional troops will be involved in training the Afghan army and police forces. The president talked about the need to speed and expand this process last month".

Bush will send a further 4,700 troops to complement the "surge" in Iraq which began in February. The new troops will include 2,400 combat support forces and 2,200 military police to deal with an expected rise in detainees as US and Iraqi forces clamp down on sectarian militias. US Deputy Defence Secretary Gordon England has said the Pentagon might have to send 7,000 support troops to complement the surge of 21,500 forces. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the US might need to send up to 28,000 support troops.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) in December 2006 recommended that Bush withdraw most US troops from Iraq by March 2008. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 63% of the US public opposed the surge. But 48% would not support Congressional efforts to restrict funding for the war to prevent Bush from implementing the surge.

The US military death toll for Iraq and Afghanistan by March 11 had risen to 3,553, while more than 25,000 had non-fatal injuries. Iraq Body Count, a group monitoring Iraqi deaths, conservatively estimated 64,273 may have died since the 2003 invasion.