The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, “The United States plans to send 1,400 additional Marines to Afghanistan to boost its struggle forces ahead of the spring fighting season.

The United States, which lead a 2001 attack of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban, has about 100,000 troops in the country, and President Barack Obama is under stress to show results so he can begin a promised withdrawal this year.

"The Marine battalion could start arriving on the ground as early as mid January. The forces would mostly be deployed in the south, around Kandahar, where the U.S. has determined troops over the past several months." the paper said. It cited unidentified officials.

The Taliban are at their strongest since they were ousted form power, while operations against the insurgency have intensified since 2008. More than 700 foreign troops were killed in Afghanistan last year, and civilian wounded were at record levels.

Obama said last month, that enough progress was being made in the operation to meet his pledge to start withdrawing U.S. troops by July and hand over security to Afghan forces by 2014.