US President Barack Obama said it is premature to send more troops to Afghanistan at this point.

In an interview published by Newsweek on Sunday, Obama said he does not has such a plan now, though it is still possible to add more troops in the future, he said

Obama noted that adding troops alone can't solve the problem.

"My strong view is that we are not going to succeed simply by piling on more and more troops. The military component is critical to accomplishing that goal, but it is not a sufficient element by itself," said the president.

He said future decisions on sending more troops depend on the development of Afghanistan's security and politics.

Obama said his announcement to send 17,000 troops to Afghanistan in February is the hardest decision he made since taking office in January.

Since his swearing-in, the president has ordered sending 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan, and that will bring US troop levels there to 68,000 later this year.

The interview was conducted on Air Force One last Wednesday, and it covers a wide range of topics, including life in the White House, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Republican Party, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's forthcoming visit to Washington, among others.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2009)