Obama's decision on additional troops to Afghanistan looms: White House

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-17 11:00

WASHINGTON -- US President Barack Obama will soon announce his decision on the deployment of more US troops in Afghanistan, the White House said Monday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who traveled with the president from Chicago to Washington D.C. aboard Air Force One, told reporters that the government is reviewing the US policy towards Afghanistan and plans to make a decision soon to send additional troops to the war-torn country.

"Without getting into broad time lines, I wouldn't -- I don't think this is anything that involves weeks," he said. "As soon as he is ready to communicate that to commanders and to families that would have to implement anything like that, I think at that point we'll be able to communicate that decision to you all."

However, Gibbs refused to disclose how many new troops would be involved in the troop buildup in Afghanistan.

The shift of military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, which is considered by the Obama administration as the frontline of fighting against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, is one of Obama's priorities since he was sworn in last month.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that the Pentagon had prepared "several options" for the president after a wide review of US strategy and goals in Afghanistan, and he believes the current US troops in Afghanistan would have all forces they asked for.

The US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, has requested as many as 30,000 additional troops, including three more combat brigades, an aviation brigade and other supporting troops. If let go, it would nearly double the size of the 37,000-strong US force currently deployed there.