"On paper 46,000 recruits have joined the Afghan national army (ANA); President Hamid Karzai's government hopes to hit 70,000 by the end of 2008. America, anxious to ensure an exit strategy for its own troops, is footing the bill - $2bn (£1bn) so far with another $2bn promised for new M-16 guns, Ford trucks and bulletproof jackets."