Equipment delay in Afghanistan

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Thousands of U.S. troops are being rushed to Afghanistan without the equipment they will need to fight an emboldened Taliban, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military officials said Thursday.

The equipment delay is "a considerable concern,” Gates said as he toured a dusty forward base in south Afghanistan where about 200 newly deployed Marines and sailors are arriving each day as part of the buildup of 21,000 new U.S. troops.

Gates attributed the delays to "the amount of equipment that has to be brought in and, frankly, the relatively limited infrastructure in terms of airfields and so on of how to get it in here.”

Brig. Gen. John Nicholson, commander of military forces in Afghanistan’s southern region, predicted a surge of violence through the Aug. 20 elections. But Nicholson said he expects the attacks will cease once the Taliban understands that they cannot drive away U.S. and international forces.

The 21,000 troops are in addition to the 38,000 already in place. Marines who arrived in southern Afghanistan this week mark the vanguard of the expansion.