Defence in a complex operating environmentrnThe decision by US President Barack Obama to increase the deployment of US troops in Afghanistan by a further 30,000 marked the end of a period of uncertainty over the future of US strategy in that country. The move to bolster ISAF forces came on top of an earlier US 'surge' in 2009, as well as changes in senior military leadership designed to increase the tempo of counter-insurgency (COIN) operations. This strategy has 'the protection of the Afghan population' as its core objective with the accelerated training of Afghan national security forces as the key mission. It also aims to enable a phased drawdown of US forces from 2011.
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