This from the Nobel Peace Prize winner 2009
Obama sends 30,000 more troops to AfghanistanANNE DAVIES
December 2, 2009 - 1:06PMUS President Barack Obama will send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to bolster the eight-year war effort, but he has also announced plans to begin drawing down troops beginning in 18 months, in a bid to instil a sense of urgency in the Afghan Government to become a viable government free from corruption.
The US leader told cadets gathered at the prestigious West Point military academy in New York that he had completed a review of the nation's strategy in Afghanistan.
"And as commander-in-chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan," he said.
"After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home," he pledged.
Sending the extra troops into Afghanistan will cost the US military $US30 billion ($32.4 billion) this year.
Seeking to reassure the American people that this "surge" did not amount to "another Vietnam", Mr Obama pointed to the historical differences.
He said there was no way the conflict in Afghanistan risked becoming another Vietnam-style quagmire, calling such thinking a "false reading of history".
He said that the Taliban insurgency was not a broad-ranging national movement like the Viet Cong, adding that America was not on its own in Afghanistan but was being supported by 43 countries. Most importantly, he said, this war was in response to a vicious attack on the American people on September 11, 2001.
He said new attacks were "being plotted as I speak" and that al-Qaeda and its allies must also face "growing pressure and strong partnerships" in Yemen and Somalia.
Mr Obama said that the goal of America was not world domination nor to occupy Afghanistan for ever.
Mr Obama insisted that the core goal of the refined strategy was unchanged: to disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al-Qaeda and to ensure the Taliban could not overthrow the Afghan Government.
But the strategy has been refined to provide a sharper focus on what needs to happen in the two fronts for the war against al-Qaeda: one in Pakistan and the other in Afghanistan.
"We will meet these objectives in three ways. First, we will pursue a military strategy that will break the Taliban's momentum and increase Afghanistan's capacity over the next 18 months," he said.
"Second, we will work with our partners, the UN, and the Afghan people to pursue a more effective civilian strategy, so that the Government can take advantage of improved security" he said.
But Mr Obama also issued a blunt warning to Afghan President Harmid Karzai that the days of "a blank cheque" are over.
"Going forward, we will be clear about what we expect from those who receive our assistance. We will support Afghan ministries, governors and local leaders that combat corruption and deliver for the people," he said.
"We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable. And we will also focus our assistance in areas - such as agriculture - that can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people," he said.
Mr Obama did not spell out a timetable for the troop draw-down but he made it clear that the Afghan Government had to lift its game and that, from July 2011, the US troops would start going home.
Thirdly, he said the success in Afghanistan was inextricably linked to America's partnership with Pakistan.
He said the days of defining the relationship narrowly were over.
"Going forward, the Pakistani people must know: America will remain a strong supporter of Pakistan's security and prosperity long after the guns have fallen silent, so that the great potential of its people can be unleashed," he said.
In his final appeal, Mr Obama reminded Americans of the attacks on September 11 and called for unity on this cause - a tacit acknowledgement that many of his own supporters were tiring of the war.
"America - we are passing through a time of great trial. And the message that we send in the midst of these storms must be clear: that our cause is just, our resolve unwavering," he said.
"We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes," he said.
Al-Qaeda and its allies must also face "growing pressure" in Yemen and Somalia, he said.
"Where al-Qaeda and its allies attempt to establish a foothold, whether in Somalia or Yemen or elsewhere, they must be confronted by growing pressure and strong partnerships," he said.
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Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:01 pm
