The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal speaks to the military at US base Kandahar Airfield, Kandahar, Afghanistan, December 2, 2009. The first of 30,000 new U.S. troops will arrive in Afghanistan in two to three weeks, top U.S. officials said on Wednesday, even as they made clear plans to start bringing the soldiers home in 18 months could slip. REUTERS/Mustafa Quraishi/Pool (AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS)