Q+A: What is in McChrystal's Afghan strategy review?

McChrystal has also said the Taliban are spreading out of their traditional areas in the south and east and into the north and west, where NATO forces from European countries have traditionally avoided combat. He may deploy additional Americans to these areas.

Q: What about Afghan forces?

A: Afghanistan has much smaller and less well-trained army and police force than Iraq and McChrystal is expected to recommend accelerating plans to expand them as a principal goal. There are now between 80,000 and 90,000 soldiers and a similar number of police, but Western military and political leaders have discussed more than doubling their number to a total security force of about 400,000. This would require more foreign troops to serve as trainers.

Q: What about non-military goals?

A: McChrystal often emphasises non-military objectives and his review is likely to call for a beefed-up and more coherent civilian-military effort to improve how Afghanistan is run, with extra Western civilians deployed into provinces. This would probably involve greater effort to direct international aid through Afghan government channels at the central and regional level and more support for measures to fight corruption.

Q: What about drugs?

A: Afghanistan produces nearly all of the world's crop of opium poppy, used to make heroin. U.S. commanders say the drug trade funds the Taliban and other insurgent groups. McChrystal's report is likely to call for better measures to persuade farmers to grow other crops and to battle drug traffickers. The Obama administration has turned away from eradication programmes, which many U.S. officials say have not been effective.

(Editing by Phil Stewart)