Obama to give primetime speech on Afghanistan

Gibbs said Obama would deliver the address from West Point military academy on December 1 at 8 p.m. (0100 GMT December 2).

U.S. officials have said Obama may say he is sending around 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of a broader strategy to arrest a deteriorating security situation there.

Asked whether Obama's decision included an exit strategy from the eight-year-old war, Gibbs said the United States would not be in Afghanistan eight or nine years from now.

He said Obama planned to brief members of Congress next Tuesday, before delivering his address.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Ross Colvin, Editing by Sandra Maler)