"The commander in chief has issued the orders," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday, as Obama briefed world leaders of his new Afghan strategy, a day before making a major televised address to the American people.

The plan emerged from an exhaustive policy review amid extreme weariness of the war among Americans, and as supporters warned Obama could be risking his presidency by deploying thousands more men to a Vietnam-style quagmire.

Obama is expected to order between 30,000 and 35,000 more troops to bolster the US effort to repel a resurgent Taliban, secure major cities and fast-track training for Afghan security forces, alongside a separate civilian aid surge.

The president will also assure Americans and regional leaders he will not underwrite an indefinite and costly stay in Afghanistan for US troops.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," Gibbs said, painting the plan as an eventual pathway for US troops to come home.

"We are there to partner with the Afghans, to train the Afghan national security forces, the army and the police, so that they can provide security for their country and wage a battle against an unpopular insurgency."

The White House said Obama delivered orders marking the most crucial leadership test of his presidency in the Oval Office so far, on Sunday, after telling top aides of his final decision.

He met generals and top security aides in the Oval Office.

He then spoke directly by secure video-link to Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal, who warned earlier this year the conflict would be lost without more troops -- and US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry.

Obama will address Americans in a major televised speech to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point at 8:00 pm Tuesday (0100 GMT Wednesday).

He will tell a nation weary of years of conflict and humbled by the worst economic crisis in generations, why it must risk yet more lives and wealth in a war launched after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

His message will be compelling listening for voters, lawmakers and soldiers, US allies, leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents battling Washington in a bloody eight-year war.

Many of Obama's core political supporters, and key Democrats worried about ballooning budget deficits, are wary of more troop deployments. Republicans have however demanded the president answer the generals' calls for more help.

As he launched a public relations offensive to market the new strategy, Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.

A secure video link-up with Gordon Brown was also planned, after the British prime minister announced he would increase British regular troop numbers by 500 to 9,500 in December.

Obama will also talk to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who both will be key players in the new strategy.

Asked why Obama was informing world leaders of his plans before telling the American people, Gibbs said that the president would not go into specifics on troop numbers but needed to consult valued US foreign partners.

Intense consultations with key players in Congress, where some majority Democrats have expressed skepticism about new troop deployments, were taking place on Monday and Tuesday, Gibbs said.

Some 35,000 American soldiers were fighting the Taliban-led insurgency when Obama took office. After an initial boost in February there are now about 68,000.

More than 900 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and October was the deadliest month since the start of the war in 2001 with 74 US soldiers killed.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost 768.8 billion dollars and by the end of this fiscal year (October 2010) the price tag will approach one trillion.

Obama Sunday spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone, then met Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff; General James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs; White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and General David Petraeus, head of US central command.

earlier related report
Australia in Afghanistan for long haul: Rudd
Washington (AFP) Nov 30, 2009 - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged here Monday that Australia would stay in Afghanistan "for the long haul" but did not offer more troops to complement an expected US increase.

Rudd met in Washington with US President Barack Obama, who is preparing to roll out his revamped Afghanistan strategy on Tuesday, as well as with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Australia takes its alliance with the United States very seriously," Rudd told reporters as he joined Clinton for a meeting at the State Department.

"That's why we have been with America for a long time in Afghanistan and why we will be with America for the long haul," he said.

During a surprise visit to Australian forces fighting in southern Afghanistan two weeks ago, Rudd gave assurances his troops were in for the long haul.

But he indicated Sunday that he would refuse any request to send more soldiers to the conflict.

Australia has about 1,550 troops in Afghanistan, making it the ninth biggest contributor of international forces fighting the hardline Islamists who were forced from power in 2001.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters earlier that Obama -- who is expected Tuesday to announce the deployment of more than 30,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan -- would not ask Rudd for more forces.

"The Australians throughout the spring have increased their contribution to Afghanistan to a level that we are obviously quite pleased with," Gibbs told reporters.

"I think he will discuss with Prime Minister Rudd our strategy moving forward. They will also talk about other issues related to the economy and climate change," said Gibbs, speaking just before the Obama-Rudd meeting.

"And we are working closely with our American friends to secure the best possible outcome for an important deal for the planet, for our economies, for jobs, for the environment," the Australian leader said.

The United States has some 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, bearing by far the largest share of the burden of the fight against the Taliban and remnants of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.

NATO allies, whose 42,000-strong contribution swells the number of foreign forces in Afghanistan to about 110,000, are due to consider sending more troops at gatherings of the military alliance December 3-4 and on December 7.

Obama is set to make the boldest strategic move of his presidency on Tuesday and order a surge of tens of thousands more US troops into an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

But The New York Times reported late Sunday that the US president also plans to lay out a specific timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan.

The White House said Friday that Australia was "an important ally of and partner with the United States in addressing the many common regional and global challenges we face."

Rudd arrived here from a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad where he helped steer a landmark declaration backing moves to draw up a legally binding pact to fight global warming at climate talks beginning next week in Copenhagen.

"The clock is ticking for us all when it comes to Copenhagen," Rudd said, standing next to Clinton.

earlier related report
US asks France for 1,500 troops for Afghanistan: report
Paris (AFP) Nov 30, 2009 - The United States has asked France to provide another 1,500 troops for the allied mission in Afghanistan, the French newspaper Le Monde reported Monday.

In Paris, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny the report, which said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the request on Thursday in a telephone call to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Clinton spoke by telephone with Kouchner on Thursday but gave no details other than that he was one of many allies she called about coordinating efforts in Afghanistan.

Besides Kouchner, Kelly said, Clinton also spoke late last week with her counterparts from Poland, Canada, Italy, South Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey, Greece, Germany, Britain, and Norway.

"A number of these calls were specifically to talk to our partners who are involved... in the effort in Afghanistan and to... talk in general outlines about the president's strategy going forward in Afghanistan," he said.

"She talked about the need for mostly coordinating our efforts," Kelly told reporters. "But, again, I'm just not going to get into about numbers or increases or anything like that."

US President Barack Obama has asked Washington's NATO allies to increase their troop numbers in Afghanistan, and he is expected to announce at least 30,000 US reinforcements in a major speech on Afghan strategy Tuesday.

The White House said Monday that Obama had called French President Nicolas Sarkozy to update him on plans.

France already has 3,750 soldiers attached to the campaign, 3,400 of them in Afghanistan itself, but Sarkozy's government has insisted that it has no plans to increase the number.

Britain, Italy and Macedonia said Monday that they would send reinforcements.

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