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Since 2006, the U.S. has concentrated its forces in eastern Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan, while the south is policed by 8,500 British troops, 2,500 Canadians and 2,500 Dutch. Their overall commander is Dutch Maj. Gen. Mart de Kruif -- who would also have command of any incoming U.S. forces in the south next year. By the fall of 2010 the top officer in the south will be American. The infusion of U.S. power risks Americanizing a war that until now has been a shared mission of 41 coalition countries. But Dutton, the British general, suggested there was no choice. "It has to do with national capacity and a number of political considerations in those countries," he said. In Canada and many European countries, governments face low public support for keeping troops in Afghanistan combat zones. Dutton said the British contribution is "significant," as well as that of Canada, which he noted has lost more troops per capita in Afghanistan than any other nation. Nicholson, the U.S. general, said the Canadians have fought "heroically" but simply don't have enough forces to secure all of Kandahar. The Canadian Embassy declined to comment. More U.S. troops -- 151 -- died in Afghanistan in 2008 than any of the seven years since the invasion to oust the Taliban, and U.S. officials warn violence will probably intensify next year. "If we get the troops, they're going to move into areas that haven't been secured, and when we do that, the enemy is there, and we're going to fight," said Nicholson, who spent 16 months commanding a brigade of 10th Mountain Division troops in eastern Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007. That fighting should eventually clear the way for security and governance to take hold, he said. "If you want to summarize that as it's going to get worse before it gets better, that's exactly what we're talking about," he said.
[Associated
Press;
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