The President will meet with his National Security team in the Situation Room tonight, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to a release from the White House Press Office, expected attendees include:
Vice President Biden
Secretary of State Clinton
Secretary of Defense Gates
Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy
Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General James E. Cartwright, USMC, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command
General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Commander in Afghanistan (via videoconference)
Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (via videoconference)
Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (via videoconference)
General James Jones, National Security Advisory
Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor
John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, Special Assistant to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Obama has yet to make a decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, and this meeting comes after some controversy over Dick Cheney’s statement that the President is “dithering” on the decision.
The meeting will take place at 8pm EST.
