WASHINGTON
Hours after winning a Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama assembled his war council in the White House to talk about how many troops might be needed to right the 8-year-old Afghanistan conflict that military commanders are pressing him to escalate.
Obama and his top national-security advisers huddled for three hours in the Situation Room to hear top military officials make their case for tens of thousands of additional troops to target al-Qaida. It marked the first time that Obama has questioned his inner circle specifically about troop levels and military commitments needed for the war that has languished in popularity.
A decision, though, was not in the offing.
"I still think we're probably several weeks away," the White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters before the meeting began. During yesterday's meeting, the Obama's team dug into the recommendations from the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, along with other potential options, an administration official said, adding that no decisions were made. The official discussed the meeting on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
Another meeting is scheduled for Wednesday for what could be the final discussions with the broad group before Obama makes his decision.
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