The US military will deploy up to 9,000 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand province -- doubling US presence there -- in the days after President Barack Obama's war strategy announcement this week, the Washington Post said Saturday.
Citing senior US officials, the daily said the extra Marines won't move to the restive southern province until after Obama's address to the nation Tuesday from the prestigious West Point military academy in New York state.
The aim is to regain a footing in the region that has been a base for a fierce Taliban insurgency in recent months.
Some 1,000 army trainers will follow the Marine's deployment, perhaps by February next year, the Post said.
"The first troops out of the door are going to be Marines," General James Conway, the top Marine officer, was quoted as telling soldiers in Afghanistan on Saturday.
By: Brant
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