Gates also said he would recommend more troops for Afghanistan if his commanders requested it, saying it was important to take the initiative in dealing with security threats. The top US commander here, General Karl Eikenberry, told reporters he had recommended extending a US infantry battalion and pressed for more Nato troops amid indications of a stronger Taliban offensive in the spring.
Gates met with President Hamid Karzai and flew by helicopter to a military post on the volatile south-eastern border with Pakistan to visit US and Afghan troops and get a first hand look at one of the frontlines in the struggle against a resurgent Taliban.