July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

WASHINGTON, July 23: US President George W. Bush and senior members of his cabinet met America’s commanders at the Pentagon on Wednesday and assured them that his administration was committed to sending ‘significant’ number of additional troops to Afghanistan, a defence spokesman said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell later told reporters that the specifics of the meeting were classified but “the need for more troops in Afghanistan (was) high on the agenda”.

Mr Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and White House chief of staff Josh Bolton attended the meeting, which was held in ‘the tank’ — a secure conference room in the Pentagon.

US Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and other senior generals represented the Pentagon.

“The secretary … helped the president craft a statement which made it clear that this country is committed to providing additional forces -- an unknown but not insignificant number -- to Afghanistan next year,” said spokesman Mr Morrell.

“I can tell you that there’s been no secret made of the fact that commanders in Afghanistan have made it perfectly clear to the leadership here in the Pentagon that they need more forces sooner than later,” he added.

The spokesman said that US commanders in Afghanistan had requested three more combat brigades to fight Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents who had recently become very active. In June, the US losses in Afghanistan exceeded its losses in Iraq.

The last full discussion the US president held with his senior commanders at the Pentagon was on March 28.

Mr Morrell said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed with the president “whether or not they can meet the needs of the commanders (in Afghanistan) any time soon.” And the president assured him that they can, he said.

The United States has indicated that some of the troops withdrawn from Iraq will be deployed in Afghanistan.

The US has already moved aircraft carrier USS Lincoln the Arabian Sea to support military operations in Afghanistan.

The national security team also discussed the recently ended surge of US troops in Iraq and what that had meant for the security of that and the region, the spokesman said.

“Security has improved so much in Iraq over the past year (that) the five additional brigade combat teams have now left the country, and yet violence remains at an all-time low,” he added.