Obama leaning toward bolstering US force in Afghanistan, sources say
WASHINGTON - President Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, although probably not the 40,000 sought by his top general there, as Pentagon planners work to prepare bases and provide equipment the troops would need in a country with scant resources.
The White House, however, emphasized yesterday that the president has not made a decision yet about exact troop levels or other aspects of the revised US strategy in Afghanistan.
Administration officials told the Associated Press yesterday the deployment would most likely begin in January with a mission to strengthen the defense of 10 key cities and towns.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president would meet again tomorrow with key members of his foreign policy and military team but was unlikely to reveal final plans for Afghanistan until late this month, when he returns from an extended diplomatic trip to Asia.
Gibbs said that the Pentagon is “working on additional recommendations’’ to present to Obama and that the president has not made a decision on troop numbers or on what the ratio should be between combat troops and trainers.
Military officials said Obama will have choices that include a phased addition of up to 40,000 forces over six months or more next year, based on security conditions and the decisions of NATO allies.
Several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made also said Obama’s announcement will be much broader than the mathematics of troop numbers, which have dominated the debate.
Officials said a substantial increase in troops is all but inevitable, but the precise number is less important than the message that an expansion and refocus of US commitment in Afghanistan would send.
About three months ago, the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, reported that the US mission was headed for failure without the addition of about 40,000 more troops.
