BBC says Obama has decided on Afghan plan – White House says, ‘whoa, not yet’
The BBC reported last night that US President Barack Obama has already decided on a major build-up of 40,000 to 45,000 American troops in Afghanistan, and that it will be announced next week. This would be in response to his commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal’s supposedly still-secret report on troop build-up recommendations for Afghanistan. But the White House brushed aside the Beeb, saying Obama had yet to make any decision on troop numbers. Earlier in the evening British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the UK would send 500 additional troops to Afghanistan, but only if they had the right equipment, if NATO allies boosted their respective troop numbers and if additional Afghan soldiers were trained. The BBC’s “Newsnight” said the US announcement might be public in time for the upcoming Nato defence ministers meeting in Bratislava.
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