White House undecided on troop increase in Afghanistan
06:27 17/09/2009 WASHINGTON, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - Washington has yet to reach a decision on increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan as U.S. commanders in the war-torn country have not yet provided President Barack Obama with data on resources they need, a spokesman for the White House said.
Speaking at a daily briefing Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that "commanders in Afghanistan haven't provided the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs, or the Commander-in-Chief with a range of options about what they might or might not want in terms of resources."
"We're going to make an assessment first on what our goals are and what the strategy is before we start making resource decisions," he added.
President Obama pledged in summer to increase U.S. military personnel numbers sent to the war-ravaged country.
The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has about 62,000 troops in Afghanistan under a UN mandate to give security support to the Afghan government and stop the flow of drugs from the country.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan, with the radical Islamic Taliban group, toppled in the 2001 U.S.-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and troops. There were over 70 attacks across the country during the August 20 presidential polls.
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