President Obama close to deciding troop deployment in AfghanistanPresident Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though not quite the 40,000 sought by his top general there.
Officials said the deployment would most likely begin in January, with a mission to stiffen the defense of 10 key cities.
An Army brigade that had been training for deployment to Iraq that month may be the vanguard.
The brigade, based at Fort Drum in upstate New York, has been told it will not go to Iraq as planned but has been given no new mission yet.
National Security Adviser James Jones insisted Obama hasn't made a final decision.
"He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources," Jones said.
"Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources," he added.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the President would meet again tomorrow to plot strategy with his war planners, with a final verdict from Obama expected this month.
Military officials said Obama will have choices that include a phased addition of up to 40,000 forces over some six months or more next year, based on security conditions and the decisions of NATO allies.
Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said he needs about 40,000 more troops or risks losing the war.
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