Washington, February 12, SPA -- The White House on Wednesday said that the news is misrepresenting the idea that U.S. President Barack Obama has already ordered U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to deploy increased U.S. troops into Afghanistan. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that news reports claiming that Gates was ordered by Obama to increase troop deployment into Afghanistan are merely “leaks in newspapers,” and are falsified information. He said that Obama has not yet reached a decision on the troop levels in Afghanistan, a war he the President has long said should take precedence before the Iraq war, which he opposed from its onset. Gibbs’ comments were centered on Gates’ comments which came during a Pentagon news conference saying Obama will likely decide in the “next few days” whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. Gates said he has already made a recommendation to the President about an additional deployment to Afghanistan.“He [Obama] has several options in front of him” about adding to the 37,000 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan, Gates said. The options involve both the size and pace of new deployments, he said.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/634808