The question of whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan has been the subject of much debate in the United States in recent weeks.<br /><br />Barack Obama, the US president, is said to be exploring alternatives.<br /><br />Earlier this week, the US military commander General Stanley McChrystal's grim assessment of the realties on the ground in Afghanistan was leaked to the press.<br /><br />His formal request for additional troops may not be met because of uncertainty within the Obama administration over whether to escalate the US commitment to the eight-year-long war.<br /><br />There is a suggestion that Obama is considering a plan favoured by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, that calls for the US to potentially scale back its troop numbers in Afghanistan and focus more attention on Pakistan.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports from Washington DC.
