New Force of Marines Poised to Go to Afghanistan

If President Obama, as expected, announces deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan on Tuesday at West Point, the first out the door will be as many as 9,000 Marines aimed at bolstering a drive against a Taliban stronghold in the southern part of the country that faltered earlier this year, the Washington Post says.

They would be followed by about 1,000 Army trainers to work with Afghan government forces.

The target of the Marines is Helmand province which the Post says has been the focus of U.S. commander Stanley McChrystal and the scene of some of the war's bloodiest fighting. A large force of Marines had earlier this year pushed the Taliban out of several major cities but there were not sufficient forces to dislodge the Taliban from one of their biggest strongholds.

The challenge for the U.S., if the additional infusion of troops produces military success, will be building an effective police force and a government free of corruption, something one military official called a "credibility test" for the Afghan government.