White House denies troop decision near

THE White House last night dismissed suggestions by Gordon Brown that President Barack Obama was close to announcing a decision on the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan.

In the Commons, Mr Brown told MPs that he had spoken to Mr Obama and expected him “to announce in a few days what his numbers for Afghanistan will be”.

However, a White House spokesman insisted that the decision on the plan drawn up by General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, was still “weeks and not days” away.

Downing Street later sought to play down Mr Brown’s remarks, saying that he had been “using that phrase in the vernacular”.

Mr Obama was to meet members of his war council yesterday to discuss the forward strategy in Afghanistan. It is the eighth such session in recent weeks.

The president has come under increasing pressure to announce a decision on troop numbers as it is now almost three months since he got Gen McChrystal’s report.

Speculation in the US has suggested that key aides are coalescing around a figure of 30,000 or more additional soldiers being deployed.

The New York Times reported that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Mike Mullen and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all agree to the 30,000-plus proposal.

The White House has repeatedly batted away reports that the president has already made up his mind.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Tuesday that anyone who suggests otherwise has not got “the slightest idea what they are talking about”.