The US Defense Department has decided to extend the combat tour of 3,200 soldiers from a 10th Mountain Division brigade in Afghanistan by four months in hopes of quelling the violence.
The decision comes a week after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with commanders in Afghanistan and heard a request for more troops.
Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry, the top US commander in Afghanistan, at first asked for about 1,200 troops. Gates said he was "strongly inclined" to meet the commander's request but wanted to consider other options before deciding how many to hold over.
Ben Abel, a spokesman for Fort Drum, the New York home of the 10th Mountain Division, confirmed that Gates had decided to extend the tour of the division's 3rd Brigade.
Already, US President George W. Bush's plan to send more than 21,000 additional troops to Iraq is facing strong criticism in Congress as he struggles to persuade the Democratic-controlled Congress and a weary public to have patience with his war policies.
The Afghanistan decision further stresses a military straining to wage major wars on two fronts. Army and Marine Corps leaders, meanwhile, are telling Congress they worry about readiness levels of their units at home.
The extension also raises questions about the future course of the conflict in Afghanistan. NATO and US troops have struggled to control an increased flow of Taliban fighters into the country and a stubborn drug trade that has financed the insurgency.
According to several military officials, the decision was made to extend the 3rd Brigade rather than hold over about 1,200 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division -- which is about halfway through a scheduled four-month tour in eastern Afghanistan.
That regiment is now expected to go home as planned, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not been released.
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