Will Sarkozy send new troops?

WASHINGTON - France's President Nicolas Sarkozy left behind a romantic sojourn in New York on Tuesday for a face-off he's long been waiting for: Talks with President Barack Obama at the White House. The meeting may boil down to one central question. Will Obama persuade Sarkozy to buck French popular resistance and send more troops to Afghanistan?

Strengthening the international force in Afghanistan is a fresh concern for Obama after his first presidential trip to Kabul. And a key aim of Sarkozy's trip to Washington is to show that France is a firm US ally in fighting terrorism, from Central Asia to North Africa and beyond.

"We will remain by your side in Afghanistan," Sarkozy said in a speech at Columbia University on Monday. "In the face of terrorism, we cannot be divided."