Obama to reveal new Afghan war plan

Washington: President Barack Obama will reveal his plan for winning an unpopular 8-year-old war in Afghanistan, embarking on a mission to sell skeptical Americans on the need to put thousands more troops in harm's way and to spend additional billions of taxpayer dollars.

After deliberating with his security team for three months, Obama issued new orders to military commanders Sunday. At least one group of US Marines will be in place by Christmas.

Members of the administration have said that Obama has signed off on a step-by-step addition of as many as 35,000 more troops.

And comments Monday by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs indicated that Obama will be forward looking in his nationally televised speech at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.