U.S. President Barack Obama will announce a new strategy for
the war in Afghanistan Tuesday that includes sending at least 30,000 more
American troops. The speech will be
given at 8 p.m. tonight when the President addresses the cadets at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The increase will bring the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about
100,000.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told major U.S. television networks that the
president will discuss a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal during his speech.
U.S. forces have been fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida in
Afghanistan since 2001. The Obama administration is struggling to counter
declining U.S. public support for the war.
President Obama discussed his war strategy earlier Tuesday with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai, and he was also expected to call Pakistani President
Asif Ali Zardari.
The announcement follows months of deliberations by President Obama and his
national security team. The commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, U.S.
Army General Stanley McChrystal, had asked for 40,000 additional troops.
Spokesman Gibbs said the Obama administration believes its allies also will
send more troops to Afghanistan.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday Berlin is not ready to contribute
more troops to the war. She said Germany would make a decision after an
international conference on Afghanistan next month in London.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he will send 500 additional
troops to Afghanistan in December, boosting his country's forces there to more
than 10,000.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin said late Monday his country is not likely
to contribute more troops to the war. But he said France plans to bolster its
role in the war by providing more aid for reconstruction.
