Obama to send “only” 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Not 80,000 or even 40,000 as McChrystal requested

obama-mohammad.jpgAccording to Fox News, tonight’s “announcement” and photo op at Fort Bragg by Obama will only yield 30,000 more troops for the “war of necessity” as Obama campaigned on. General Stanley McChrystal outlayed plans to Obama (back in August remember?) to win the war or risk failure. The main plan called for anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 new troops for Afghanistan. The half-assed planned called for 40,000. So the man with so much not “experience” in being commander in chief has undercut has hand picked general and will send only 75% of what McChrystal’s half-assed plan required.

In a speech to be delivered at West Point, the president also plans to discuss an end-game for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan that will have a specific timeline for withdrawing “surge” forces with a number and date attached.

Military officials said at least one group of Marines is expected to deploy within two or three weeks of Obama’s announcement, and will be in Afghanistan by Christmas. Larger deployments won’t be able to follow until early in 2010.

The 30,000 new troops will bring the total in Afghanistan to more than 100,000 U.S. forces. The main mission of the new troops will be to reverse Taliban gains and secure population centers in the volatile south and east parts of the country. NATO diplomats said Obama also is asking European members of the military alliance to contribute between 5,000 and 10,000 new troops to the international force in Afghanistan.

Anti-war Democrats and liberals have been hammering the president for agreeing for the most part to a plan by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan. But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Americans will be pleased with the president’s strategy, and its limited timeframe.

“The president will announce an acceleration of our training of Afghan national security forces both of army and a police because in the end the Afghan have to be responsible for providing their own security that’s what’s important,” Gibbs told Fox News on Tuesday.

“This is not nation building and it’s not an open-ended commitment,” he said.

Without giving the timeline for deployment or the total number of troops ordered up, Gibbs said Obama’s speech will lay out a faster deployment plan than initially envisioned in the war review written by McChrystal, who had sought 40,000 troops. Obama is hoping that NATO allies will contribute the deficit in troops.

No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)

December 1, 2009 · Filed Under Afghanistan


Comments