Allies Help McChrystal Reach Troop Goal

[TomCADem]

Source: WSJ

BRUSSELS -- The top official in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said 25 countries will send an additional 7,000 troops to Afghanistan next year -- a pledge that technically gives U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal the 40,000 new troops he requested.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the commitment "significant" and U.S. officials voiced optimism that allies would agree to send even more soldiers.

U.S. officials have been privately pressing France and Germany to provide additional forces. Both countries have said they are waiting until an international conference at the end of January to decide whether to commit more troops.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he was committing at least 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan -- with a plan to begin withdrawing them in July 2011 -- in a bid to reverse gains made by the Taliban and support the elected government in Kabul. Senior military and defense officials said Defense Secretary Robert Gates had presidential authorization to send an additional 3,000 U.S. reinforcements.

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This seems consistent with President Obama's earlier speeches in Europe when he asked for help from NATO countries in Afganistan.