奥巴马向驻阿富汗美军签署新命令

US President Barack Obama has issued new orders for the US military in Afghanistan after deciding how many more troops to send, officials say.

在决定派遣多少部队进驻阿富汗之后，美国总统奥巴马向驻阿富汗美军签署新命令。

There are 68,000 US soldiers based in Afghanistan

Mr Obama told senior military leaders about his long-awaited decision on troop numbers on Sunday night, a White House spokesman said.

The president is now briefing（简报） the UK, French and Russian leaders on the plan.

The moves come as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would send 500 more soldiers to the country.

According to US media reports, Mr Obama is set to formally announce that a further 30,000 troops are to be sent to Afghanistan in a televised address on Tuesday.

He has been considering a request from the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 soldiers.

Mr Obama met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice² President Joe Biden on Sunday evening.

He also spoke¹ to senior staff including Secretary of Defense³ Robert Gates and National Security Adviser⁴ James Jones before holding a videophone conference with Gen McChrystal and Karl Eikenberry, ambassador to Afghanistan.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is currently visiting Washington DC, was told of the plans in person.

'Political surge'

The US currently has about 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, where foreign forces currently total more than 100,000.

In his address, the president is also expected to tell the American public again why the US involvement in Afghanistan is necessary and how long the commitment is expected to last.

Last week, Mr Obama said he intended to "finish the job" in Afghanistan.

The White House said Mr Obama was in the process of speaking to all the key US allies in the Afghan conflict, including Italy, France, Britain and Russia.

The leaders were informed of the new strategy but were not told exactly how many extra troops the US intends to despatch⁵, the Associated Press reported.

On Monday, Mr Brown said he was sending a further 500 soldiers to Afghanistan, taking the country's total deployment⁶ in the country to 10,000.