Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2009 2:20 PM CST
Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Suntory Hall in Tokyo Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

After weeks of deliberation, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and ordered the military to carry it out. The exact size of the troop escalation has not been announced, but sources put the number in the neighborhood of 30,000 more troops. The president started informing military leaders last night and will explain his plan in detail in a national speech tomorrow from the US Military Academy at West Point.

Obama plans to explain how he intends to pay for the intensified effort and how he will ultimately bring the troops home, press secretary Robert Gibbs said today, adding, "This is not an open-ended commitment.” Obama has been spending today asking America's allies for renewed support: Britain is expected to send 500 additional troops, while Hillary Clinton has asked Nicolas Sarkozy to commit an additional 1,500 French service members to the effort, the New York Times reports.
(More Afghanistan stories.)

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