Obama may send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan: report

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama may send some 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan, pending a final announcement next week, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Quoting Obama aides, the newspaper said the troop increase would most likely be slightly below 30,000, but the president is still not happy about it.

An increase of about 30,000 reinforcements has won the support of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen.

That number would fall between the 40,000 additional troops requested by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Stanley A. McChrystal, and the far smaller number favored by some Obama advisers, including Vice President Joseph Biden.

Obama will also be making a broader appeal for Afghanistan's neighbors and regional actors to play a role, his aides said.

But even the president finally settles on the number of 30,000 more troops, he is still uneasy because there is widespread discontent among the members of his own party on Capitol Hill over the prospect of escalating the war and paying for it.

Before a meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon, Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, said during a conference call that there was "serious unrest in our caucus about can we afford this war."

She said she did not want to sacrifice the Democratic Party's domestic agenda to the cost of the troop buildup.

Obama said on Tuesday that he will make the Afghan troop announcement "shortly," without mentioning any specific date.

But officials said the Congressional leadership had been invited to the White House for a briefing next Tuesday and U.S. media reported that the president will make the announcement through an address to the nation, likely in prime time.