No one can say any longer that President Barack Obama doesn't have the paperwork:

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters a short time ago that an "informal copy" of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's "resource request" has been given to the president.

That resource request is the case that the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan is making for the deployment of more American troops to that central Asian nation. It's a critical part of the strategic review that the president and his advisers are now conducting.

McChrystal's request, Morrell said, still has some steps to take in the chain of command before a final copy lands on Obama's desk.

As we reported earlier, a new Quinnipiac Poll signals that most Americans support having troops in Afghanistan if the goal is stopping terrorism — but most oppose having troops there if the goal is "nation building."

Update at 3:45 p.m. ET. Here's an audio clip of Morrell explaining where the request is: