A group of military veterans agree to President Barack Obama’s plan for Afghanistan. A number of them gathered in a bar in Scottsdale, Arizona, sipping beers while watching Obama speak live on TV, according to a feature by Reuters.

Scottsdale is known as a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where veterans congregate. While they may not be a majority in as far as American society is concerned, nor do they as a group represent American society in general, they are a group who have what the Reuters feature called “strong views on military matters.”

Among the views expressed by the veterans was the fact that there were troops who were willing and able to go to Afghanistan; all they needed was support from the administration, according to 53 year-old Army veteran Steve McDonald. He also added: “If we’re going to go in and chase the terrorists, let’s get them, knock them out and get the job done … let’s not mess around.”

Along with their approval is a bit of criticism for the amount of time that it took him to arrive at a decision. Claude Winney, who, at 88, is one of the few surviving veterans of the Second World War who is still at the post, the venue where veterans still meet once a month, has this to say: “I’m glad he’s sending more troops, but I don’t know why it took him 90 days to take a decision.”

Half of America, though, does not share the same views. The country is divided when it came to the question of the war in Afghanistan, being as it were that there are other problems that need attention, such as the crisis in the economy. The families of those who make the ultimate sacrifice for country also do not support the “sending (of) more troops into harm’s way,” with the thought that a person’s life is something that cannot be replaced, and we have, indeed, lost quite a number of them in Afghanistan.