Gates Says Obama to Decide Soon on More Afghan Troops - Please don't do it Barack

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLk3O6WIshgc&refer=us

By Ken Fireman

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates said President Barack Obama will likely decide in the “next few days.” whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Gates told a Pentagon news conference today he has already made a recommendation to the president about an additional deployment to Afghanistan.

“He has several options in front of him” about adding to the 37,000 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan, Gates said. The options involve both the size and pace of new deployments, he said.

Army General David McKiernan, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has asked for as many as 30,000 more troops over the next year to beat back a renewed Taliban insurgency.

Gates said a decision must be made before an Obama-ordered review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan is complete to give sufficient notice to units that may be deployed.