WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama has decided to send a large number of troops to Afghanistan and keep a large force there for the long term, CBS News reported Monday.
Citing informed sources, CBS said Obama intends to agree to most, if not all, of a request by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, for 40,000 new troops. A source described as a senior officer told the network Obama has decided to send four combat brigades and thousands of support troops.
The first new contingent of troops would arrive in Afghanistan early in 2010 and the deployment would not be completed until the end of 2010, CBS reported, saying Obama would not likely announce his decision before returning to the United States from China this month.
The report said all of Obama's military advisers have called for more troops in Afghanistan but have also cautioned the war cannot be won if Afghan President Hamid Karzai does not rid his government of corruption.
In an interview with ABC News Monday, Obama said he plans to meet again with top advisers to discuss strategy in Afghanistan.
"I've been asking not only General McChrystal, but all of our commanders who are familiar with the situation, as well as our civilian folks on the ground, a lot of questions that, until they're answered, may -- may create a situation in which we resource something based on faulty premises," he said.
