That’s a low-ball number, like all initial government estimates for ‘cost’. Never mind there will be people shooting at the troops the whole time. And what gives with the troop count anyway? I thought a shot over the bow or a drone or two, ala Great Leader was what was going to happen.
Easily.
We should also keep in mind that the ObamaBots in the military will tell Herr Leader what they think he wants to hear. I have very little confidence in anything the Obama run Pentagon says. These are the same people that put a lying Marine before congress to discredit his subordinate officer in order to protect traitors in the WH and the State Dept.
Knowing absolutely nothing of the intel they are privy to, I'd double that number as a starting point. How many troops will be needed when the region goes up in flames because he put troops there in the first place? This will snowball in a very big and very ugly way.
It would be interesting to know what the troop level the Soviet military estimated would be required to “secure” Afghanistan in 1980. And how long they thought it would take.
And did they tell the civilian leaders what they really thought?