Did President Obama, Karzai hold video conference, talk strategy (AP)?”
A top Afghan military official said Tuesday that a key part of President Barack Obama’s new war plan — accelerating the training of Afghan soldiers — does not go far enough to meet the country’s defense needs. Obama plans to dispatch 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan over six months — an accelerated timetable with a built-in endgame — that would have the first fresh Marines on the ground as early as Christmas, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. Obama also will ask NATO allies to contribute 5,000 to 10,000 new troops to the separate international force in Afghanistan, diplomats said. Obama’s plan emphasizes stepped-up training for Afghan forces, a goal aimed at speeding the handover of the nation’s security to Afghan security forces. Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the new head of a U.S.-NATO command responsible for training and developing Afghan soldiers and police, said Tuesday that although the groundwork is being laid to expand the Afghan National Army beyond
