American Troops Burning Hashish

2009 began with an additional surge of troops. President Bush had initially agreed to the surge but President Obama went along with the plan. The surge in troops effectively doubled the number of US troops available to fight. During 2009 the US began using Russia and Uzbekistan to supply the troops in Afghanistan since sending supplies via Pakistan was becoming more dangerous. With more troops the US launched a number of new operations. They included Operation Strike of the Sword and Operation Panther’s Claw. The goal of the operations was to secure the area around the Helmand Valley. Elections were held in Afghanistan in 2009. The Taliban tried as best as they could to disrupt the elections.