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| US 'adds 30,000 to Afghan troops' | US 'adds 30,000 to Afghan troops' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| President Barack Obama is to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in a rapid deployment within six months, US officials have said. | |
| Mr Obama will make the much-anticipated announcement as part of a speech to the nation at West Point military academy. | Mr Obama will make the much-anticipated announcement as part of a speech to the nation at West Point military academy. |
| Officials in Brussels say the American president is also asking Nato allies to provide up to 10,000 extra soldiers. | Officials in Brussels say the American president is also asking Nato allies to provide up to 10,000 extra soldiers. |
| The US currently has 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, with foreign forces overall totalling more than 100,000. | The US currently has 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, with foreign forces overall totalling more than 100,000. |
| President Obama's Afghan surge is expected to focus on tackling the Taliban in the volatile south and east of the country. | |
| End-game? | |
| He is also expected to lay out a rough timeframe for how long the main US military mission will last. | |
| MARDELL'S AMERICA The danger for the president is that this middling figure will annoy hawks, while annoying those who think any new build-up is undesirable Read Mark's thoughts in full | MARDELL'S AMERICA The danger for the president is that this middling figure will annoy hawks, while annoying those who think any new build-up is undesirable Read Mark's thoughts in full |
| A senior Pentagon official told the BBC the new troops would be made up of 9,000 Marines and 21,000 regular soldiers, of which 4,000 will train Afghan security forces. | |
| President Obama's prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday evening comes amid growing domestic concern over the eight-year-old Afghan war. | |
| The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says Mr Obama will seek to reassure a confused and suspicious public that this is not an open-ended mission. | |
| For all the sense of deeper engagement, this hugely important speech will also be about how the US president intends to get out of Afghanistan, our correspondent adds. | |
| 'Quick punch' | |
| Both the rising violence - more than 900 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan - and the chaos that followed August's discredited elections have fanned mounting American opposition to the mission. | |
| OBAMA's SCHEDULE 2100 GMT: Meets Congressional leaders at White House2230 GMT: Departs for West Point, New York0100 GMT Weds: Address to the nation0340 GMT Weds: Arrives back at the White House class="" href="/2/hi/americas/8388336.stm">Marines train for Afghanistan class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8387684.stm">Afghans sceptical on new troops | |
| Earlier this year, however, the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, warned that America risked failure unless troop numbers were increased. | |
| He requested 40,000 more soldiers. | He requested 40,000 more soldiers. |
| Mr Obama has reached his decision after 10 top-level meetings with advisers over three months. | Mr Obama has reached his decision after 10 top-level meetings with advisers over three months. |
| White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told MSNBC on Tuesday: "This is not an open-ended commitment, what we are doing is putting forward a comprehensive strategy and an end-game in Afghanistan." | |
| He said the deployment would be accelerated to "deliver a punch quickly". | |
| The US president has outlined the new military strategy to Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai. He is also thought to have briefed the leaders of Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China. | |
| European allies | European allies |
| An unnamed Nato diplomat told AP news agency on Tuesday that President Obama is asking European allies to contribute between 5,000 and 10,000 new troops to Afghanistan. | An unnamed Nato diplomat told AP news agency on Tuesday that President Obama is asking European allies to contribute between 5,000 and 10,000 new troops to Afghanistan. |
| Angela Merkel said she would make no decision on troops before January | Angela Merkel said she would make no decision on troops before January |
| On Monday, Britain confirmed it was sending 500 more troops, taking the UK's total deployment there to 10,000. | |
| Italy has also said it will increase its force, although without saying by how much. | Italy has also said it will increase its force, although without saying by how much. |
| But President Nicolas Sarkozy said last month France would "not send a single soldier more". | |
| In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference on Tuesday Germany would wait until after a 28 January conference in London on Afghanistan before deciding on any troop increases. | In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference on Tuesday Germany would wait until after a 28 January conference in London on Afghanistan before deciding on any troop increases. |