Obama to Approve Nearly 40,000 More Troops for Afghanistan
by John Little on 9/11/2009CBS News sources say Gen. McChrystal will get his troops:
Tonight, after months of conferences with top advisors, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that the president will send a lot more troops and plans to keep a large force there, long term.
The president still has more meetings scheduled on Afghanistan, but informed sources tell CBS News he intends to give Gen. Stanley McChrystal most, if not all, the additional troops he is asking for.
The buildup will be gradual and the commitment long-term which could have very interesting political implications for Obama. Most analysts point to a disgruntled anti-war base but there’s a huge upside, with even more Americans, if he can show real progress in the war by the end of his first term.
Meanwhile, Voice of America has an interesting and balanced roundup of Afghan opinion on the subject:
Ahmed Wali Mohmand is a student from Paktika province, next to the border with Pakistan. He says foreign governments should use their resources for something other than troops. “They should help with all our people and make universities and schools and other things which our people and society need,” he said.
Daud Sultanzoi is a member of Afghanistan’s parliament. He says he believes more foreign troops are needed and that the U.S. and Afghan governments have not done a good job of communicating the real reason for troops being sent to Afghanistan. “How can you build schools if you don’t have security? How can you build schools if you cannot go to the districts to build them? You cannot build schools in a barrack and then transport it somewhere. You have to go to each district and secure those districts,” he said.
These troops will help us continue doing just that.
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