Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Obama to Send 30K Troops; Home By 2011

President explains US troop surge at West Point

By Will McCahill, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 1, 2009 7:35 PM CST | Updated Dec 1, 2009 7:55 PM CST

(Newser) – 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.”

[Images (8)]

[Videos (1)]

President Barack Obama addresses cadets as he speaks about the war in Afghanistan at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, tonight. (AP Photo)

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sits with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, and Gen. David Petraeus... (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama poses for a picture with cadets after he spoke about the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Cadets listen as President Barack Obama speaks about the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Demonstrator Minerva Maldonado, 23, of Haverstraw, NY, holds a picture of her brother, Francisco Maldonado, 24, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, as she walks outside the US Military Academy at... (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

President Barack Obama speaks about his Afghanistan policy before cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the war in Afghanistan at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks about the war in Afghanistan at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

President Obama's speech on Afghanistan. (MSNBC)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

21%

29%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Troops on Course to Leave Afghanistan in July: Report

White House cites 'fragile' gains in region

(NEWSER) - The US is “setting conditions” to begin an Afghanistan troop withdrawal in July as planned, says a White House report. While President Obama’s strategy in the region is “showing progress,” the document says, “the challenge remains to make our gains durable and sustainable,” the Washington Post reports. Taliban gains have been “arrested in much of the country and reversed in some key areas,” but progress remains “fragile and reversible.” More»

'Muslim President' Hates Charlie Brown: Tenn. Mayor

Obama's West Point speech forced postponement of Christmas special

(NEWSER) - President Obama's speech on the Afghanistan troop buildup bumped the annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, really ticking off the mayor of Arlington, Tenn. He apparently hasn't heard that nothing is private on Facebook, where he vented about TV scheduling: "Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load," wrote the curiously named Russell Wiseman, who runs a town about 30 miles northeast of Memphis. More»

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

(NEWSER) - There was a bipartisan show of unity after President Obama’s speech tonight on Afghanistan—though hardly the unity Obama was looking for, as negative reaction echoed from his leftmost supporters to his rightmost critics. The 30,000-troop buildup irked Democrats, the Wall Street Journal reports, despite Obama pairing that with a withdrawal date. And that timetable angered Republicans, with Sen. John McCain saying it tells foes “that you’re coming and you’re leaving.” More»

Obama Sounding a Lot Like Bush

Rationale for troop surge is the same that Bush used for Iraq

(NEWSER) - Glenn Greenwald finds the rationale for the Afghan troop surge President Obama will announce tonight to be "remarkably similar" to that used by George W. Bush when he argued for more troops in Iraq in 2007. The speech hasn’t been given yet, but the administration has been leaking enough to sink a ship, and “to anyone with a memory that extends back for more than a few weeks, all of this seems anything but new.” More»

Obama to Give Afghan Speech at West Point

Tuesday troop surge announcement comes as approval falters

(NEWSER) - President Obama will announce his decision to send 20,000 to 40,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan in a speech to West Point cadets next Tuesday at 8pm. His remarks will outline a surge, but administration officials say the president is not making a case for an open-ended war. “We are in year nine of our time in Afghanistan,” says Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. “We’re not going to be there another eight or nine years.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Obama to Send 30K Troops; Home By 2011

President explains US troop surge at West Point

[Images (8)]

[Videos (1)]

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Taliban • Pakistan • al-Qaeda • Afghanistan war • West Point • President Obama • cadets • US Military Academy • Afghanistan troop build up • President Obama speech

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Troops on Course to Leave Afghanistan in July: Report

White House cites 'fragile' gains in region

'Muslim President' Hates Charlie Brown: Tenn. Mayor

Obama's West Point speech forced postponement of Christmas special

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

Obama Sounding a Lot Like Bush

Rationale for troop surge is the same that Bush used for Iraq

Obama to Give Afghan Speech at West Point

Tuesday troop surge announcement comes as approval falters

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?