A lot of people have been waiting in anticipation for President Barack Obama’s speech at the U.S. Military Academy, where he was expected to finally give an answer to the question that is Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is the bailiwick, from which the horrors of 9/11 were known to have originated, and it has been all of eight years since men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces – from the Army to the Navy – started getting deployed to the country. The fight with the Taliban has seen quite a number of soldiers and sailors – Navy SEALs among them – perish in the line of duty.
During his address at West Point, Obama recalled memories of 9/11. He also finally revealed his stand on the situation in Afghanistan and asked for the nation’s support as he decides to send 30,000 more troops to the country. He also said that U.S. forces will start coming home on 2011.
The President stressed three objectives that the move on Afghanistan will hopefully accomplish. First was to “deny Al-Qaeda a safe haven,” as well as to “reverse the Taliban’s momentum” as it tries to overthrow the country’s government. The President also mentioned helping to strengthen the capacity of the Afghan security forces and government “so that they can take the lead responsibility in Afghanistan’s future.”
The beefing up of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was justified by the President as necessary due to the fact that the security of the United States was “at stake”. The President also mentioned that there were “new attacks” that were being plotted, we are presuming against the United States, as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are reportedly gathering strength in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan.
There are currently 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, and the President said that the buildup will begin right away. He will also ask NATO and other allies of the United States to increase their current 40,000-troop presence in Afghanistan.
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