AFGHANISTAN: Marines buy 19,000 pairs of mountain boots.

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The Pentagon issued a dire report about Afghanistan on Friday. U.S. commanders say more troops are needed.

Does that mean that Marines already there will have their deployments extended through the winter? Or does it mean other Marine units will be sent to Afghanistan to thwart the resurgent Taliban?

Nobody in the know is talking. But maybe a story in Footwear News last week carries a clue.

The Marine Corps has just placed a $3-million order for 19,000 pairs of Mountain Cold Weather Boots made by Portland, Ore.-based Danner. It’s the biggest order the corps has placed since signing a contract two years ago with Danner’s corporate parent, LaCrosse Footwear Inc.

The Marines want the order filled by year’s end. The boots are said to be warm, snug and durable, perfect for terrain that is rocky, snowy and wintry cold, like the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan that serve as a sanctuary for the Taliban.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: The Mountain Cold Weather Boot by Danner. Credit: Danner