The BBC is reporting that the Obama administration has told British officials that it will announce a "substantial increase" in U.S. forces for Afghanistan.
The report, attributed to British sources, follows today's announcement that 500 additional British troops would be sent to Afghanistan if certain conditions are met.
According to the BBC's Newsnight program, "the US could next week announce plans to send up to 45,000 extra servicemen and women."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed the report, saying President Obama has made no final decision on troop numbers.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged more troops on the condition that Afghan President Hamid Karzai reduce corruption and improve his government's performance, and if they have the necessary equipment, if other NATO allies also bolster their forces and if more Afghan soldiers are trained. About 9,000 U.K. personnel are in Afghanistan now.
On Tuesday, AFP reported:
In an unannounced move, President Barack Obama is dispatching an additional 13,000 US troops to Afghanistan beyond the 21,000 he announced publicly in March, The Washington Post reported Monday.
The additional forces are primarily support forces -- such as engineers, medical personnel, intelligence experts and military police -- the Post said, bringing the total buildup Obama has approved for the war-torn nation to 34,000.
"Obama authorized the whole thing. The only thing you saw announced in a press release was the 21,000," a defense official familiar with the troop-approval process told the daily.
The report, posted on the newspaper's website late Monday, came as Obama weighs a request from the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for more combat, training and support troops, with several options including one for 40,000 more forces.
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