I think you're missing the picture here.
Would Palin shackle our troops with the silly ROE that the current Administration has hamstrung them with?
She's calling for Obama to support the troops by letting them do their job effectively. It's not just 'more troops'; it's letting them actually, well, fight. If Obama doesn't even let them do that, then 'more troops' ain't gonna cut it. THAT'S the point.
This is an argument about mere details. The key point is that Obama and Palin essentially agree on the need to bail out the corrupt, Islamic, drug lorad, Karzai. In fact, the thrust of the letter urges Obama to stay the course. BTW, I don’t remember that she ever criticized Bush who followed essentially the same policy in Afganistan for six years. Please note that Bush did nothing to fight the Taliban in Pakistan. There ain’t a dime’s worth of different between Obama and Palin on this quagmire. Both are shoulder to shoulder in supporting this exercise in futility.
Let me add another point. If the get tough policy Palin apparently recommends didn’t work for the Soviets over entire decade, why does anyone think it will work for us? Also, I think you are missing a larger point: this letter indicates a close alliance between Palin and the neocons. That is highly significant.