Obama’s War: 30K Troops Ordered to Afghanistan
U.S. forces will expand by 30,000, but troop withdrawal will begin in 18 months
Declaring “our security is at stake,” President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan on Tuesday night, nearly tripling the force he inherited but promising an impatient public to begin withdrawal in 18 months.
The buildup will begin almost immediately — the first Marines will be in place by Christmas — and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone. In a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, the president told the nation his new policy was designed to “bring this war to a successful conclusion,” though he made no mention of defeating Taliban insurgents or capturing al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
“We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven,” Obama said in spelling out U.S. military goals for a war that has dragged on for eight years. “We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum. … And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government.” — Read full article…
U.S. forces will expand by 30,000, but troop withdrawal will begin in 18 months
