The decision of US President Barack Obama whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan may soon come to a close. The president announced that he will meet with his top advisers including Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the Afghanistan situation on Tuesday in the Situation Room.
The discussion is considered to be the ninth attempt to reach a consensus whether Obama will send 40,000 troops to Afghanistan as requested by Army General Stanley McChrystal to aid in the eight-year-old war. The president, who has been reviewing the situation and war strategy, is expected to give his decision next week.
NATO officials said that a meeting on Afghanistan will be held on December 7 with the expectation that Obama already has a decision by then whether or not to deploy the needed troops. Currently, there are 110,000 foreign troops, including 68,000 U.S. solders, fighting the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other top security advisers are considering the options for Obama to deploy 30,000 to 40,000 troops. But the president is still facing pressure as Democrats want the United States out of Afghanistan, while Republicans support troop deployment. The stability of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government has also been a concern for Obama.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post-ABC News poll results indicate that 46 percent are in support of sending a large number of troops, while 45 percent are hoping for only a small number.
