Gates Expects Obama Afghan Troop Decision In Days

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday he expects President Barack Obama to reach a decision on troop deployments for Afghanistan in the next few days.

The initial deployment could be as small as a single combat brigade as the Obama administration moves to complete a review on Afghan strategy by April, Gates suggested as he spoke to reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

U.S. military planners have been considering sending two Army combat brigades, each with about 3,500 soldiers, and a larger Marine task force that could number close to 10,000 troops.

"The president will have several options in front of him and I think he will make those decisions probably in the course of the next few days," Gates said.

"There is a realization that some decisions have to be made before the strategic review is completed. If only because if he does decide to send at least an additional brigade combat team -- even just one -- the next one to go would need to be notified pretty quickly."

The Obama administration is looking at plans to eventually nearly double the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000. There are currently 37,000 U.S. forces in the country as part of a western military presence of about 70,000 troops.

Gates declined to rule out further troop increased beyond the 60,000 mark but said he worried that too large a Western military presence in Afghanistan could backfire on U.S. interests.

"There is no cap," he said. "I would be deeply skeptical about further troop deployments beyond that."

On Monday, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he did not foresee the U.S. troop increase going beyond the extra forces requested by U.S. Army General David McKiernan, the NATO commander in Afghanistan.