There are about 26,800 soldiers in the Afghan national army and about 55,000 national police. Rumsfeld said the remaining U.S. troops would continue to help train and equip the Afghan security forces and work with NATO on a variety of security projects.

Rumsfeld, on his 10th visit to Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001 that ousted the Taliban rulers, heard that hostile forces had acquired more advanced weaponry as well as improved their training and organization, and that conditions in the south of the country were more dangerous than ever.

One officer said his battalion had engaged in 88 firefights in the past six months, more than in its three previous Afghanistan deployments combined, and that there had been a recent increase in vehicle-borne suicide bombers.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 23, 2005
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