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US Marines - Source: Reuters
The top US commander in Afghanistan has recommended an increase of 40,000 U.S. troops as the minimum necessary to prevail.
Sources say General Stanley McChrystal has also given President Barack Obama an option of sending more than 40,000 troops, which could be politically risky given deep doubts among Obama's fellow Democrats about the eight-year-old war.
One of the sources says there is also a third high-risk option of sending no more troops.
Afghanistan's ambassador to the US is urging the American public
to back McChrystal's proposal, saying any less than 40,000 troops
will not do the job.
Ambassador Said Jawad says he has met senior US officials,
including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General David Petraeus
to give his government's views on what was needed as President
Barack Obama considers his options for Afghan strategy.
"Under the current security threat I think it would be reasonable
to say that 40,000 troops will be needed. That would be the minimum
required," Jawad says.
Ultimately, how many troops were needed depends on the quality of
US forces on offer, how quickly Afghanistan's own security could be
built up and the level of cooperation from neighbouring Pakistan,
he adds.
Obama will meet his security team again on Friday, when troop numbers are expected to be considered in his overhaul of US strategy in Afghanistan.
A heated debate is playing out in Washington over whether to
send more soldiers to Afghanistan to try to put down the Taliban
insurgency or to scale back the US mission and focus on striking al
Qaeda cells.
"The president has always evaluated our policy, as I said here
yesterday, based on those that pose a direct threat to attack our
homeland or to attack our allies," White House spokesman Robert
Gibbs says.
"Included in that group are any that would provide safe haven for those activities."
As Obama deliberates about the US future in Afghanistan troops there are facing the worst violence of the war, as Taliban insurgents have extended fighting to previously secure areas, including Kabul, where attacks were once rare.
On Thursday, 17 people died and 76 were wounded in the capital's center when a large bomb exploded outside the Indian Embassy .
The attack was the latest in a series of militant attacks on diplomatic and government buildings in Kabul.
