Troop decision 'on December 1'

24 November 2009 | 03:59:51 PM | Source: AFP/SBS

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Barack Obama is expected to announce a sizeable increase in US troop levels in Afghanistan (AAP)

Barack Obama plans to announce his long awaited decision on the number of troops being deployed to Afghanistan on December 1, US media report.

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Citing unnamed sources, National Public Radio said a sizeable increase in troop numbers was expected - but did not reveal any figures.

The plan is for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, and the top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to testify to Congress soon after Obama makes the announcement, NPR said.

Obama held a two-hour meeting with his war cabinet late Monday to discuss the strategy in Afghanistan.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs earlier told reporters that a decision on troops could be announced as early as next week, adding that no announcement would be made during the Thanksgiving holiday, which is celebrated on Thursday.

"It's not going to happen this week," he said. "Obviously the first possible time would be some time next week."

Gibbs, speaking at the regular White House briefing, would not confirm a date for the announcement.

 

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24 Nov 2009 19:11 AEST

Stuart

From: Canberra

drug trades

Historically the Taliban were CIA assets in the middle east after the soviet-afghan war 1979-1989. Poppie production has risen 10 fold since the US occupation. This is a drug war... its not rocket science.

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