The
New York Times reported Tuesday that President Obama announced he was
going to "finish the job" in Afghanistan, and could send 25,000 to 30,000
additional American troops to the area.
Obama
completed consultations with his war council on Monday night and will
officially announce his decision next week in a national address, said the
White House.
"After eight years -- some of those years in which we did not have, I
think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done -- it is my
intention to finish the job," he said.
Obama gave no details on how he planned to finish the job or when he
predicted beginning extricating the United States from Afghanistan.
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, said, "additional
troops would be unwise because of the corruption and ineffectiveness of the
Afghan government," reported the Chicago Tribune.
Obama's aides told allies that the number of troops would increase
slightly fewer than 30,000. Obama has not completely settled on a final number.
There are 68,000 American troops currently stationed in Afghanistan.
