U.S. President Barack Obama has called for another meeting of his national security team to decide on future strategy for Afghanistan, including the request from the top U.S. commander there for the deployment of additional 40,000 troops in the war torn country, announced the White House on Monday.
The White House said that the national security meeting on Afghanistan would begin at 8 pm Monday in the White House Situation room. It is scheduled just hours before the U.S. President receives visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh at the White House for discussions and later for the State Dinner.
Monday's security meeting on Afghanistan will be attended by senior officials including Vice-President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry will participate in the discussions through video conferencing.
It is the ninth such meeting on the Afghan issue since August, and comes at a time when Obama is reportedly moving closer to an announcement regarding the deployment of additional troops in the war-torn country.
Earlier, General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, had submitted a report about the situation in Afghanistan with Washington and the NATO. He has also asked for the deployment of 40,000 additional coalition troops to Afghanistan.
U.S. President Barack Obama is currently studying Gen. McChrystal's request for additional troops and was earlier expected to announce his Afghan strategy review soon after his Asian visit. Obama has already held several meetings with a 15-member core group, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his top military commanders, to discuss future strategy on Afghanistan.
Presently, there are some 100,000 foreign troops from more than 42 countries in Afghanistan under the commands of the NATO and the United States, fighting Taliban insurgents. U.S. is the biggest contributor to the coalition forces in Afghanistan, with about 62,000 troops on the ground.
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