U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized the deployment of at least 13,000 additional support troops to Afghanistan. The Washington Post today reported that the Pentagon is deploying the 13,000 new troops in addition to the 21,000 extra combat soldiers approved by Mr. Obama in March. Officials said the latest deployment is made up of support troops, such as engineers, medical personnel and intelligence experts, rather than combat troops. President Obama has been meeting with senior political and military advisers at the White House for a series of strategy sessions to discuss the way forward in the eight-year-old conflict in Afghanistan.