Americans send 800 Troops to help Canadian Forces in Afghanistan

The plan to have American combat Soldiers deploy with 1000 Canadian combat troops has been in the works for months and has finally officially seen the light of day. About 800 American troops will be helping Canadian forces in the fight against Taliban insurgents in Kandahar province, military officials announced Saturday. This will increase allied fighting troops in the area to 1,800.

The new troops, better known as the Ramrods or the 2-2's come from the 2nd Infantry Battalion, based at Fort Hood, Texas, arrived in Kandahar in early July and are setting up a base in Maywand district, which is northwest of Kandahar city and borders on Helmand province wher the British and the Marines are fighting the Taliban.

U.S. Lt.-Col. Dan Hurlbut commanding, said the Americans have been scoping out the area for a few weeks. Maywand is considered a dangerous place, overrun by the Taliban, and NATO troops haven't spent much time in the area.

"Our initial impression is there are some folks who are happy to see us. There are other folks who are probably reluctant, at best, because of the Taliban presence that's been there for so long," Hurlbut said.

The Americans will come under the command of Canadian Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, who said the U.S. battalion's mission is to disrupt the flow of Taliban money and weapons in Maywand district, making it safer in areas where some of Canada's soldiers are based.

"I am confident that their presence in this district will contribute greatly to the overall security situation and will assist in the expansion of reconstruction, development and capacity building initiatives," Thompson said.