The White House announced the meeting Friday. It said the two men would "confer on a range of issues, including Afghanistan and climate change in the run-up to Copenhagen," referring to the United Nations environmental conference to be held in the Danish capital next month.
Obama administration officials said that much of the discussion would focus on whether Australia would contribute more troops to the Afghan mission. They indicated that Rudd would be the first of several allied leaders whom Obama intends to meet with on the issue in the coming weeks.
Rudd announced in April that he would send 450 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the Australian deployment to more than 1,500 soldiers. About 100,000 international forces operate in Afghanistan under Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, 68,000 of them U.S. soldiers and Marines. WaPo
Monday, November 30, 2009
Obama Meets With Australian Prime Minister Rudd
Obama plans to press PM Kevin Rudd for more troops in Afghanistan. The two will meet at about 11 a.m. eastern:
