Obama orders more troops to Afghanistan

The deployment, to total 17,000 soldiers and Marines, will double the number of U.S. combat brigades at a time of tension with Afghanistan's weak government over civilian casualties. > President Obama ordered his first major deployment of U.S. combat troops Tuesday, authorizing 17,000 additional soldiers and Marines for Afghanistan in what he described as an urgent bid to stabilize a deteriorating and neglected country. (link)