Afghan troop rollout to have NATO element

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is talking with NATO officials about staging a coordinated rollout of a new Afghanistan war strategy, sources say.

Citing "officials familiar with the talks," The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday White House negotiators are meeting with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to nail down foreign troop commitments before announcing a U.S. troop surge into the Afghan struggle, thus sending a clear message the United States isn't alone in its fight against the Taliban.

The Journal said estimates from U.S. and European sources place potential troop contributions from NATO allies from 3,000 to 7,000, while Washington would send in between 10,000 to 40,000 troops. It cited unnamed U.S. officials as saying a combination of combat troops and training forces totaling 35,000 has gained the most momentum within the White House.

The newspaper said that with NATO foreign ministers to meet in Brussels starting Dec. 3, Obama was most likely to make his announcement on Afghanistan troop levels ahead of the meeting.

Rasmussen "has already begun an intensive series of consultations with European allies," NATO spokesman James Appathurai told the Journal.