Obama's Afghan Plan: About 40K More Troops

CBS Exclusive: Sources Say Force Will Grow to 100,000 with Long-Term Stay Planned; White House Denies Report

(CBS)  Editor's note, 9:57 p.m. EDT: The White House has issued the following response to this story, attributed to White House National Security Advisor James Jones:

"Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. 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. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources."

Tonight, after months of conferences with top advisors, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that the president will send a lot more troops and plans to keep a large force there, long term.

The president still has more meetings scheduled on Afghanistan, but informed sources tell CBS News he intends to give Gen. Stanley McChrystal most, if not all, the additional troops he is asking for.

Special Report: Afghanistan

McChrystal wanted 40,000 and the president has tentatively decided to send four combat brigades plus thousands more support troops. A senior officer says "that's close to what [McChrystal] asked for." All the president's military advisers have recommended sending more troops.

But they also have warned that troops alone will not win the war unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai cleans up his government.

"He's got to take concrete steps to eliminate corruption," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said last week. "That means you have to rid yourself of those who are corrupt. You have to actually arrest and prosecute them."

The first combat troops would not arrive until early next year and it would be the end of 2010 before they were all there. That makes this Afghanistan surge very different from the Iraq surge, in which 30,000 troops descended on Baghdad and the surrounding area in just five months.

Related stories:

Karzai Vows to Tackle Corruption, Cronyism
Opinion: Afghanistan: Obama's First Domino
U.S. Troops to Afghanistan: A Waiting Game
Obama Eyes Smaller Afghan Troop Option
On Afghanistan, a Decision Comes Slowly
Obama Nears Decision on Afghanistan Troops
Obama: I Won't Rush Afghanistan Decision

Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute says a slow motion surge will produce slow motion results.

"If they're going to be sort of trickled in very slowly over the course of a year than it's unlikely to have a very decisive impact in the course of 2010," he said.

The buildup would be expected to last about four years, until McChrystal completes his plan for doubling the size of the Afghan army and police force.

With 68,000 Americans already there, the Afghan surge would mean there would be 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the end of the president's first term.

The president is not expected to announce his decision until after he returns from China the week before Thanksgiving.

[rosejuli]

My son is a Marine in NW Helmund Province- remote outpost. I was wondering why he was asking me to send food, then I read other posts by Marine families (Military.com)saying that their Marines were buying cows ...from the Afghan locals just to be able to eat. My son told me they have gone three weeks without a supply drop and are cooking whatever they have gotten from home.If they can't feed the men that are there now, God help the ones yet to go. Someone needs to blow the lid off this.

[billy377]

I can?t believe this crap!!! 2920 days and counting ? you know just think of what the greatest military might in the world can do in 1 day but hey after 8 years all Obama can come up with is send more troops? here?s something interesting I read though.
<a href=" http://ketiva.com/Politics_and_Government/obama_isnt_eight_years_in_afghanistan_enough1.html">http://ketiva.com/Politics_and_Government/obama_isnt_eight_years_in_afghanistan_enough1.html</a>

[mikey1018]

wat?! this is BS man!! he promised in his speech that he'd get the troops outta there!! thats the reason some people voted for him in the first place and now he pulls off this kinda s**t?!

[Vetproud]

Amazing. No matter what acts of terror are perpetrated in the name of Islam its always the fault of Western civilization and Chrstianity (via nutty conspiriacy theories that are baseless). The appoligists for Islam that enjoy the freedom of speech that is a Western Christian tradition continue to work to undermine the civiliztion that protects them. As for the Muslim community...plenty of protests over a few harmless cartoons yet silence when it comes to 9-11, London bus bombings, train bombings in Spain etc..etc. Noloyalisti...have your grand-daughter fitted for her burka.

[noloyalisti]

This whole Afghanistan fiasco (it is only a fiasco for the troops and the taxpayers) is about the military-industrial complex controlling the heroin and other money laundering operations for the big corporations.

That is why the puppeteers had their puppets, the Bush Crime Family, instigate the fraudulent War on Terror. What a bunch of ignorant, sorry, sad suckers we are.

[50BMS13]

noloyalisti
AND THE MOON IS MADE OF CHEESE!

[noloyalisti]

And Bush told the truth

And global climate change is a hoax

And 911 was done by Afghani terrorists

And Fox News is news channel

[RedWings_ninety_one]

Empire-George,
Of particular significance was the donation of US-made FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, which caused a small increase in aircraft losses of the Soviet Air Force.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.com. And thanks to the good folks who work there round the clock, the information is true and not edited.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

And if you may recall, due to your apparent I.Q. you probably don't, the Afghans have the ability to duplicate the technology ever since they've had it in there hands.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

Come On Empire-George, give me a piece of your mind. You don't know what I know and don't know so you can't say anything about it. I found you a source and now you can't even own up and say you were wrong. What's up with that?

[fariborzzak]

please pay more TAXES.

[Vetproud]

You don't have to say please. Obama will make it madatory in short order.

[stychokiller]

In order for Afghanistan to be considered a failed nation-state, it would have to have been a successful one in the past. Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan has been nothing more than a collection of fiefdoms. It's a miracle that the Taliban was actually able to pull the country together at all. I say abandon Afghanistan and invite Iran to rule the area. That should keep the Persians busy for quite a lonnngg time! Kill two birds with one stone for once.

[noloyalisti]

The War on Terror is a fraud. Created by the Bush Crime Family neocons for political and financial gain. The laid it all out in the PNAC document and ignored ALL the warnings for 911. If they did not plan and carry out the attacks themselves, they were FULLY aware of it and let it happen.

[50BMS13]

noloyalisti
ANT THE MOON IS MADE OF CHEESE

[PaGuy1960]

whether you want to admit it or not.. Unless of course you listen to Hillary, there is still a war on terror going on and probaly will be for the rest of our life times.

[sandy19731]

I understand that it was phrased this way by the last administration. But, you really can't have a war on an emotion. It needs to be on a group of people, so shall we call it radical islamism? Or, what/who exactly are we fighting? Surely no-one expects terror to sit down and sign a peace treaty.
I think we are actually chasing criminals and that requires a police action not a war.
Sending our troops overseas and then having them return fire with anyone who engages them is really a poor way to engage in warfare.

[50BMS13]

UNITED STATES of AMERICA vs. ALLAH (simple as that)