Army General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S.and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has sent his evaluation of the situation on the ground to Mr.Obama and European leaders.

VOA: standard.2009.09.29

U.S.Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Michele Flournoy, says President Obama's decision to send 30,000 more U.S.troops to Afghanistan in the next six months and then begin withdrawing them by July 2011 was made only after a lengthy district by district evaluation of the security situation in Afghanistan.

VOA: standard.2009.12.08