U.S. Vice President Joe Biden consulted with European allies Tuesday on the way forward in Afghanistan. The Obama administration has ordered 17,000 more U.S. troops to the country to bolster the 38,000 already there. Biden first met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, then with the panel of ambassadors from NATO's 26 member states. He will meet later Tuesday with senior officials at EU headquarters in Brussels, Associated Press reported. His visit _ less than a week after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with senior NATO and EU officials here _ highlights the new priority that diplomatic outreach to allies has become for Washington.
