Obama will sift the four approaches on Wednesday in his latest meeting with top military brass and his national security team, as his exhaustive review of the US posture in Afghanistan draws to a close.

"The president will have an opportunity to discuss four options with his national security team tomorrow," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.

Gibbs, speaking as the president flew to a memorial service for 13 people killed in last week's rampage at Fort Hood army base in Texas, declined to offer details of the various options.

But he did hit out at a flurry of reports and leaks variously suggesting that Obama had already decided to send up to 40,000 more troops to war, after commander General Stanley McChrystal warned in September US strategy was failing.

"Anybody that tells you that the president has made a decision... doesn't have in all honesty, the slightest idea what they are talking about," Gibbs said.

"The president is yet to make a decision."

The sourcing of leaked reports carried by several US news organizations was unclear, though some observers have suggested some constituencies within the Pentagon may be trying to lean on Obama.

"I don't know that it's annoying as much as it is generally amusing to watch somebody or some group of people decide they know what only the president knows," Gibbs said.

"It keeps me busy and it's in some ways fun to watch two reports that contradict each other be reported virtually simultaneously."

The White House has said that troop numbers are only one factor of Obama's review, which is designed to assess the entire US posture towards Afghanistan and Pakistan and political developments in both nations.

Obama is not expected to make a final choice on his options in Afghanistan until at least the end of next week when he returns from a trip to Asia, though the White House says the review is at a "pivotal" stage.

McClatchy newspapers reported at the weekend that Obama was leaning towards sending more than 30,000 troops, and CBS television reported late Monday that the president had "tentatively" decided on deploying close to 40,000.

The reports cited three combat brigades as part of the buildup as well as support troops, and a contingent for training Afghan security forces.

Defense officials acknowledge three combat brigades would be available, including one from the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York.

That brigade was earlier scheduled to deploy to Iraq in January but has been told to stay put pending new orders.

A brigade from the 101st Airborne Division in Kentucky and a brigade of Marines would also be available. Army brigades are about 3,500 to 5,000 troops each, while a Marine brigade comes to about 8,000.

Some military officials have expressed frustration at the pace of Obama's deliberations over two months, while Republicans have accused the president of dithering.

McChrystal has asked for tens of thousands of additional troops to fight a deadly insurgency by Taliban militants and Al-Qaeda linked groups.

He presented a number of options in a troop request to the president, including a maximum of 80,000 troops, another option of about 40,000 and a third scenario with some 20,000, according to US media.

There are more than 100,000 NATO-led troops now stationed in Afghanistan, including nearly 68,000 American forces.

In another sign a decision may be near, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Berlin Monday that Washington will give Afghan President Hamid Karzai a set of measures to root out the corruption.

Clinton signaled the Obama administration's growing impatience with Karzai, declared the victor of a fraud-marred election, when she said the steps are needed to leave "no doubt" as to what Washington expects from the relationship.

Massive fraud uncovered after the August 20 presidential election highlighted corruption in Afghanistan's government and complicated Obama's decision on future strategy.

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