Standing before West Point cadets and top military leaders, President Obama told of his plans for the war in Afghanistan. The war, which is now entering its ninth year, has become a very troublesome issue for the United States. With this in mind, President Obama outlined a clear plan on what he was going to do, and why he was doing it. First, and most importantly, Mr. Obama announced that early 2010 he would be sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. This would be to target, and further weaken, the insurgency, making the country safer, and also so that more Afghani forces may be trained, so that power may be transferred back to Afghanistan, and so that American troops may begin to leave. President Obama vowed to begin bringing troops home in the middle of 2011. He defended the war, stating that "Afghanistan is not lost," "but for several years it has moved backwards," and that it now needs to be brought back. Hinting at the Bush years, and also criticizing the Afghani leader, Hamid Karzai, Obama also stated that Afghanistan would no longer be receiving a "blank check." Also, bringing up the issue of Pakistan, he stated that he would continue to support Pakistan. President Obama addressed many points during his speech, detailing a clear plan for the war, but also leaving many questions unanswered.
Three whole months were spent before this speech in determining a proper strategy for the war in Afghanistan. Both sides gave their views on what should be done, with many on the right wanting Obama to heed General McChrystal's advice and add 40,000 more troops, and many on the left wanting Obama to set a definitive exit plan. He addressed both sides, adding 30,000 more troops, instead of McChrystal's requested 40,000, and giving a time -- the middle of 2011 -- for when he would begin to bring troops back home. On this last issue though, he was somewhat ambiguous. He never said how many troops he would begin to bring home at that time, and when he would bring all troops back home. Though even this is better than simply stating that the war must be won before we left, as the last President stated. Also, it is not certain that the surge will even work. It worked in Iraq, but that doesn't mean that it will work here. Afghanistan has already become somewhat of a quagmire, and one hopes that it does not truly become a quagmire and even more of a detriment to this country. President Obama spoke somewhat definitively, being concise, and telling of what he actually wanted and why he wanted it. Now, one can only hope that all works well, and that we get out of Afghanistan as soon as we can, not allowing it to become a quagmire.
Source:
Update:
No comments:
Post a Comment