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Generals briefed on Afghan war strategy

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Military generals heard details from U.S. President Barack Obama on the deployment of roughly 30,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan ahead of a major speech.

Obama met his top military and policy advisers in a weekend war council meeting, relaying his decision to U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his top military commander in Afghanistan.

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Obama in a prime-time speech at the U.S. military academy at West Point, N.Y., Tuesday is expected to announce he will send another 30,000 U.S. forces to Afghanistan. Military leaders had called for another 40,000, though NATO allies will be called upon to make up the difference, The Wall Street Journal reports.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the new strategy for Afghanistan is based in part on a commitment to help Afghanistan deal with its own challenges.

"You will hear the president express clearly that this is not open-ended," the spokesman said.

The West Point address will also describe strengthening the U.S. relationship with Pakistan as Washington sees Islamabad as a key partner in its regional ambitions.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, for his part, called on Pakistan to increase its vigilance in the region as part of a broader counter-terrorism effort.

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Obama is expected to speak with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his Afghan strategy following a series of talks with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

U.S. military planners said early this year that the Afghan mission was in danger of failing. Obama is set to meet with U.S. lawmakers to discuss his war strategy before addressing an increasingly skeptical American public.

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