Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Obama to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan

STAR/TRIBUNE
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and HELENE COOPER

WEST POINT, N.Y. - President Obama announced Tuesday that he would speed 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in coming months, but he vowed to start bringing U.S. forces home in the middle of 2011. He said that the United States could not afford an open-ended commitment and that it was time for Afghans to take more responsibility for their country.

Saying he could "bring this war to a successful conclusion," Obama set out a strategy that would seek to reverse Taliban gains in large parts of Afghanistan, protect the Afghan people from attacks, provide time for Afghanistan to build its own military capacity and a more effective government and increase pressure on Al-Qaida in Pakistan.

"I see firsthand the terrible ravages of war," Obama told 4,000 cadets, in a somber speech at the United States Military Academy. "If I did not think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan, I would gladly order every single one of our troops home tomorrow. So no, I do not make this decision lightly."

The speech at West Point, the culmination of a review that lasted three months, could well prove the most consequential of Obama's presidency. In it, he sought to convince an increasingly skeptical nation that the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the continued existence of Al-Qaida across the border in Pakistan were direct threats to U.S. security, and that he could achieve the seemingly contradictory goals of expanding American involvement in the war even as he sought to bring it responsibly to a close.
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13 comments:

  1. nickDecember 2, 2009 at 5:31 PM

    Nick C7
    I think that it is right to send more troops to Afghanistan if it ends the war quicker. I think that if it takes more troops to end a war quicker than they should send more troops over to fight. I kind of find it hard to believe that the the U.S. will be able to start pulling troops out by 2011. I think that it will take a little bit more time before they can pull troops out. I agree with Obama that sending the troops over there is putting them at risk but if it goes on for ever more troops could be killed over time than ending it quicker.

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  2. Hansen#28_slick!!!!December 2, 2009 at 9:10 PM

    i agree with Nick. if we want to end this war we need more soldiers in Afghanistan.. and thats why obama is sending 30,000 more so we can get this war done with and bring everyone home as soon as we finish the war..

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  3. Justin EricksonDecember 3, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Justin EricksonDecember 3, 2009 at 10:06 AM

    Finally! It's been about over 115 days since McChrystal admitted the administration the report. And so we come to a grand total of... 30,000 troops? McChrystal said we needed 40,000 troops at a MINIMUM. That's 10,000 more than what Obama mentioned. I will give our president some credit, at least he approves of the war and wants to put an end to it. But that brings me to another point. Obama actually said when he wanted to pull the troops out of the war; he set a timeline. That is the very LAST thing you ever want to do when it comes to a war. Why? Because the enemy will just wait it out until we leave and then they will be free to do what they want. I doubt that Obama would actually follow through with that timeline; however, he shouldn't have even said it in the first place. I think that many Democrats and Republicans believe that is a BAD idea.

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  5. Julia.G1December 7, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    I think that it President Obama is in a really hard situation right now. On the one hand, he promised to end the war and put troops out of there. On the other hand, to make the war successful he needs more troops. I think that his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan was not really his best choice. Now alot of people say that he does not do what he promised when he ran for president. I think that they are right. Obama just sends more and more troops there. If some troops fail or just do not change something, he sends more and more there. Although he has alot of things to fix (war, health care,...) he has to think what is the best for the people and I think that he does not do that right now.

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  6. Dongjin U. 5December 8, 2009 at 9:06 AM

    I believe that ending the war is the top priority. As we drag the war continously, lots of national expenses have been wasted for national defense and lots of troops have been killed. So we have to finish the were as soon as possible, otherwise, these situations of the worst would continue. In that point, I think that Obama made a right decision and we have to try our best to end the war.

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  7. AaronK2December 8, 2009 at 8:09 PM

    I agree with President Obama to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan because if we are going to end the fighting in Afghanistan we are going to need 30,000 more troops. The good people of Afghanistan need the help from the United States. Our other option would be to leave Afghanistan, but that is even more risky long-term. So if we are going to stay in Afghanistan, we need the right resources (troops & weapons) to be successful. So I agree with Obama sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

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  8. Aney S2December 9, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    I believe sending more troops into afghanistan is good. If we want to end the war faster this is necessary if we would like to end the war.

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  9. Adam S1December 9, 2009 at 5:57 AM

    The war has been going on for so long that President Obama probably wants to end it right away despite is plan to withdraw troops. Sending 30,000 troops just might be enough to end the war although it might not. Other politicians might think this is a bad idea, but for now this is probably the best course of action.

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  10. Cole W5December 9, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    I think it was a good idea for President Obama to send an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The surge of troops that was sent to Iraq helped calm the war down there so I think it should help end this war. I believe that it will help get all the troops home faster then originally thought.

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  11. j klickDecember 9, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    I believe that Obama mad a good decision sending the troops to Afghanistan. Sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan will help the war come to an end sooner than thought and help the troops get back to their families.

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  12. Molly O1December 9, 2009 at 8:46 PM

    President Obama made a mistake setting a time limit for the homecoming of the troops. I don't disagree with him dragging the war out, but he shouldn't have made a promise he couldn't keep. Besides that, I think [sending more troops] is needed for the U.S. to be successful in the war. In the beginning, I thought bringing them home needed to be done ASAP, but when you find out what goes on behind closed doors, Obama made the right decision, and maybe sending more will help bring them home sooner. I'm interested to find out.

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  13. haydenDecember 9, 2009 at 8:58 PM

    I don't like that Obama is sending the troops to Afghanistan because I don't think they are doing any good over there. We need to start pulling our troops out of the middle east.

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