Obama to Send 30K Troops; Home By 2011

Saying that “Afghanistan is not lost, but for several years it has moved backwards,” President Obama explained his decision tonight to send 30,000 more US troops there. Speaking at the US Military Academy in West Point, NY, he told the cadets in the audience, “I owe you a mission that is clearly defined and worthy of your service.”

In what Gerald Seib, writing for the Wall Street Journal, calls “a preemptive strike” at critics taking aim at his promise of a 2011 withdrawal, Obama said, “The absence of a timeframe for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the Afghan government. It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan.”
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