Obama says he will make Afghanistan troop decision in ‘coming weeks’

October 6th, 2009 Palin urges troop buildup in AfghanistanANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is urging President Barack Obama to increase the number of U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan.

September 30th, 2009 AP source: Obama makes no decisions on Afghan warWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has heard from his top national security officials about their next step forward with Afghanistan but has not made any decisions. A senior administration official says Obama spent three hours in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday and pushed his team for specifics and details.

September 30th, 2009 NATO official agrees with Obama's Afghan approachWASHINGTON — NATO's secretary-general said Tuesday President Barack Obama is right to decide strategy first, then resources for Afghanistan and said he's confident that U.S. and allied troops will remain "as long as it takes." Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Obama met in the White House, addressing reporters afterward.

September 30th, 2009 NATO leader agrees war strategy should be reviewedWASHINGTON — As the White House began Tuesday to debate in earnest the increasingly unpopular Afghanistan war, NATO's secretary-general said President Barack Obama is right to delay troop decisions until a possibly revamped approach is devised. "The first thing is not numbers," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told reporters as he and Obama wrapped up their Oval Office meeting.

September 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The top US and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) military commander for Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has formally asked the Pentagon for additional troops, FOX News reported Sunday. McChrystal personally submitted his long-awaited request to US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis following closed talks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, according to the report.

September 25th, 2009 Afghan war commander submits troop requestWASHINGTON — The Pentagon's top military officer flew to Europe to talk to the commander in the Afghanistan war Friday about how many troops he needs to turn around the faltering campaign. President Barack Obama would not say whether he thinks the war requires more troops, and said he is reviewing whether the United States is pursuing the right strategy to defeat al-Qaida.

September 23rd, 2009 McCain: More troops needed in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says more U.S.

September 11th, 2009 Dem senator steps up pressure on Afghanistan warWASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services chairman is adding to the growing pressure on President Barack Obama to resist escalating the war in Afghanistan, saying Friday the U.S. should instead train more Afghan security forces.

September 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A leading conservative columnist, George Will, has called on the Obama administration to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, and instead focus on fighting from "offshore" by means of "intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, air strikes and small, potent Special Forces units." According to the Washington Post, there seems to be some merit in waging an "offshore" war, given the success that has been achieved in neighbouring Pakistan against the Taliban with the help of Predator drone strikes, minimum troop deployment and contractors. The acknowledged U.S.

July 27th, 2009 NZ signals likely to raise Afghanistan troop levelWELLINGTON, New Zealand — Prime Minister John Key gave a strong signal Monday that New Zealand likely will increase its troop levels in Afghanistan — with a decision on any fresh commitment by mid-August. He also restated New Zealand's desire for an "exit strategy" for its troops, with its 140-member provincial reconstruction team currently committed until September 2010.

July 23rd, 2009 Current troop levels and deaths in AfghanistanCurrent troop levels and deaths since 2001 among leading members of the NATO-led force and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan: UNITED STATES — About 59,000 soldiers, at least 675 died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.

July 2nd, 2009 Obama to reassess US troop levels in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama tells The Associated Press that he will reassess the possible need for additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the Afghan national elections in August.

May 8th, 2009 AP source: First Obama Afghan surge troops arriveWASHINGTON — Pentagon officials say the vanguard of President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan arrived this week. Dozens of Marines who arrived in Kandahar as advance units represent the first group of soldiers deployed as a direct result of Obama's decision to expand U.S.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama outlined his administration's new strategy in Afghanistan Friday, saying a major goal will be to shut down the Al Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan and Pakistan through a bolstered troop presence. 'We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future,' Obama said.

February 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will soon announce his decision on the deployment of more troops in Afghanistan, the White House has said. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who travelled with the president from Chicago to Washington, told reporters Monday that the government was reviewing the US policy towards Afghanistan and may take a decision soon to send additional troops to the war-torn country.