Obama Addresses The Nation And The World
The President walked onto the stage to a round of applause from those in attendance at what has been the most anticipated speech, arguably since his address to a joint session of Congress on Health Care. He began the speech by reminding Americans why the war in Afghanistan happened at all, referring to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the murder of over 3,000 innocent people.
President Obama wanted to assure the American people that he did not make his final decision lightly and that none of the plans presented to him were plans that began before 2010 and that no time was lost due to any perceived delay. The real fear he spoke of was the threat of a resurgence of extremism in the region and that the threat of an Al'Qaeda operative obtaining a nuclear weapon from Pakistan and using it was a very real threat. It was with this in mind that he has decided to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan under a plan that has the beginnings of a draw down and handing over of security responsibilities to Afghan forces within 18 months.
The President also spoke directly to the people of Afghanistan by sending a message of friendship and cooperation while acknowledging that the country was inextricably linked to Pakistan and their capacity to secure their own boarders against Taliban fighters. He called those who would name Afghanistan another Vietnam, people who would "cut and run" from the nation's responsibility to protect its interests while also mentioning the current state of the economy and address growing concerns over the costs for the troop increase.
Since early in his campaign for the Democratic nomination to run for President his foreign concerns were Afghanistan and Pakistan, so one could argue that despite the polls showing terrible numbers in support of a continuation of the war in Afghanistan, he is holding firm in what is now a long held position. That might not be of any comfort to those who are steadfastly against the war, but realistically there really were no good decisions to make and just picking up and leaving would have been the worst of all.
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President Obama wanted to assure the American people that he did not make his final decision lightly and that none of the plans presented to him were plans that began before 2010 and that no time was lost due to any perceived delay. The real fear he spoke of was the threat of a resurgence of extremism in the region and that the threat of an Al'Qaeda operative obtaining a nuclear weapon from Pakistan and using it was a very real threat. It was with this in mind that he has decided to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan under a plan that has the beginnings of a draw down and handing over of security responsibilities to Afghan forces within 18 months.
The President also spoke directly to the people of Afghanistan by sending a message of friendship and cooperation while acknowledging that the country was inextricably linked to Pakistan and their capacity to secure their own boarders against Taliban fighters. He called those who would name Afghanistan another Vietnam, people who would "cut and run" from the nation's responsibility to protect its interests while also mentioning the current state of the economy and address growing concerns over the costs for the troop increase.
Since early in his campaign for the Democratic nomination to run for President his foreign concerns were Afghanistan and Pakistan, so one could argue that despite the polls showing terrible numbers in support of a continuation of the war in Afghanistan, he is holding firm in what is now a long held position. That might not be of any comfort to those who are steadfastly against the war, but realistically there really were no good decisions to make and just picking up and leaving would have been the worst of all.
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