Breonna Haven
JR Pinto
English 1101
27 October 2009
President Obama’s Policy in Afghanistan
General McChrystal is said to want 40,000 more troops to help fight in Afghanistan. He recently, “submitted a long- awaited report on the state of war in Afghanistan. He said that while the war is winnable, a new strategy is needed to accomplish Obama’s goal of dismantling al Qaeda.” (Keck) “In his 66-page assessment of the war, McChrystal warns that the next 12 months will probably determine whether the U.S. and international forces can regain the initiative from the Taliban.” (Naiman) All this persuasive talk on his end doesn’t so much have Obama on the ride but Karzai sure is.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently stated that, “he backs a recommendation from the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan to boost American troop levels in the embattled Islamic nation.” “The call for more U.S. soldiers is “the right approach…and we back it.”(CNN 1) Karzai also criticized the U.S. allies for not going after al Qaeda and other extremists in places beyond the Afghan border.
Obama, on the other hand, has yet to respond to pleads by McChrystal, for more troops, “prompting opponents to accuse him of indecisiveness.” (Keck) Obama speaks out and states that, “he would consult with U.S. allies before determining a strategy in Afghanistan.” “I am going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions. There is no immediate decision pending on resources, because one of the things that I’m absolutely clear about is you have to get the strategy right and then make a determination about resources” (CNN) He has made a promise to put this war at the top of his priority list and take care of it once and for all. He has, “promised to regularly asses his approach to Afghanistan, ensuring that he does not simply rubber-stamp recommendations of military leaders or “stay the course” of a faltering strategy.” (Barnes) Sounds good, right? That Obama is taking his time in...