Obama to finally reveal Afghan plan
Source: Agencies |
December 2, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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UNITED States President Barack Obama is to announce this morning (Beijing Time) that he will send about 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan in a long-awaited war strategy shift that he hopes will defeat the Taliban and allow for a US exit.
After three months of deliberations that some critics called dithering, Obama is to lay out his plan in a televised speech to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The troop increase represents a major gamble by Obama. He came to office vowing a greater focus on Afghanistan but has faced skepticism from some advisers about the wisdom of putting more American lives and money on the line for a government in Kabul widely seen as corrupt and inept.
In a nod to those concerns, Obama plans to devote part of his speech to stressing that the US does not have an "open-ended commitment" in Afghanistan, eight years after the costly war began in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Obama's challenge is to reverse what US military commanders call a deteriorating situation due to a resurgent Taliban. He also aims to persuade Afghan President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption and improve governance in exchange for US support.
"We're going to accelerate going after al-Qaida and its extremist allies, we're going to accelerate the training of an Afghan security force, the police and an army, because we want to as quickly as possible transition the security of the Afghan people over to those national security forces in Afghanistan," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Obama is also expected to stress the need for Pakistan to do more to fight militants who have crossed into Afghanistan. The administration has said getting the policy right in Islamabad is just as important as in Kabul.
The White House would not detail Obama's strategy, but US officials said he would announce he has authorized sending about 30,000 more troops. There are now about 68,000 US troops and 42,000 allied forces in Afghanistan.
Obama is not expected to set a specific pullout date. The strategy envisions a phased troop buildup over the next 12 to 18 months followed by a gradual drawdown and handover to Afghan forces over three to five years, officials said.
The president may face a tough sell at home with many Americans weary of war and wanting more focus on a weak economy after years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
James Monaghan of Watertown, New York, reflected this mood in talking about his 20-year-old daughter, deployed in Iraq.
"She's got kids. She's got a husband ... in the military as well ... It's time for family to come home. Bring the kids home," he said.
Obama's announcement is likely to set off a battle in the Democratic-controlled US Congress over funding since his own Democrats oppose a big troop surge.
The added cost could reach US$20-40 billion. Some Democrats have talked of imposing a "war surtax" to pay for it.
Pentagon officials hope NATO members eventually will supplement the US surge with up to 10,000 of their own troops and trainers, pushing the overall number of extra troops close to 40,000, the number recommended by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.
After three months of deliberations that some critics called dithering, Obama is to lay out his plan in a televised speech to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The troop increase represents a major gamble by Obama. He came to office vowing a greater focus on Afghanistan but has faced skepticism from some advisers about the wisdom of putting more American lives and money on the line for a government in Kabul widely seen as corrupt and inept.
In a nod to those concerns, Obama plans to devote part of his speech to stressing that the US does not have an "open-ended commitment" in Afghanistan, eight years after the costly war began in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Obama's challenge is to reverse what US military commanders call a deteriorating situation due to a resurgent Taliban. He also aims to persuade Afghan President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption and improve governance in exchange for US support.
"We're going to accelerate going after al-Qaida and its extremist allies, we're going to accelerate the training of an Afghan security force, the police and an army, because we want to as quickly as possible transition the security of the Afghan people over to those national security forces in Afghanistan," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Obama is also expected to stress the need for Pakistan to do more to fight militants who have crossed into Afghanistan. The administration has said getting the policy right in Islamabad is just as important as in Kabul.
The White House would not detail Obama's strategy, but US officials said he would announce he has authorized sending about 30,000 more troops. There are now about 68,000 US troops and 42,000 allied forces in Afghanistan.
Obama is not expected to set a specific pullout date. The strategy envisions a phased troop buildup over the next 12 to 18 months followed by a gradual drawdown and handover to Afghan forces over three to five years, officials said.
The president may face a tough sell at home with many Americans weary of war and wanting more focus on a weak economy after years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
James Monaghan of Watertown, New York, reflected this mood in talking about his 20-year-old daughter, deployed in Iraq.
"She's got kids. She's got a husband ... in the military as well ... It's time for family to come home. Bring the kids home," he said.
Obama's announcement is likely to set off a battle in the Democratic-controlled US Congress over funding since his own Democrats oppose a big troop surge.
The added cost could reach US$20-40 billion. Some Democrats have talked of imposing a "war surtax" to pay for it.
Pentagon officials hope NATO members eventually will supplement the US surge with up to 10,000 of their own troops and trainers, pushing the overall number of extra troops close to 40,000, the number recommended by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.
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