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Barack Obama, the US president, has approved the deployment of an extra 17,000 troops for Afghanistan, the White House has confirmed.
The troops would include one additional US army brigade a marine expeditionary force, along with support staff, Obama said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires," he said.
The move followed a request from Robert Gates, the US secretary of defense, Obama said.
The increase is the first installment on a larger influx of US forces that the US president was widely expected to announce after entering office in January.
The Obama administration is currently reviewing its policy in Afghanistan, the results of which are expected to be released in April, although Obama said the increase in troop would not "pre-determine" the outcome of the review.
Analysts say US troop build up in Afghanistan could reach up to 60,000 troops from current levels of 38,000 in coming months.
The move puts troops on the ground in time for the increase in fighting that usually comes with warmer weather and ahead of national elections to be held in Afghanistan in August.
PHOTO CAPTION
U.S. servicemen board a plane bound for Afghanistan at Manas Air Base near Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, February 13, 2009.
Al-Jazeera
