Obama to Unveil Afghan Plan at West Point

Obama to Unveil Afghan Plan at West Point
November 26, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama plans to announce a redrawn battle plan for Afghanistan, including what the military says could be a roughly 50 percent increase in U.S. forces, in a national address Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy.

Although military and administration officials cautioned that Obama has not settled on a final figure, the military is planning for an increase of up to 35,000 troops begin next year. Military officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the president's plans.

The addition forces would come atop a record 71,000 U.S. troops in the country now and would represent the largest expansion since the war began eight years ago.

Obama will be speaking to a war-weary American public, with the Army's storied academy at West Point, N.Y., as a backdrop and cadets entering the service most stretched by two wars on hand. Polls show support for the war has dropped significantly since Obama took office, with a majority now saying both that they oppose the war and that it is not worth fighting.

Congressional Democrats may be an even tougher sell. The administration is deploying two Cabinet officials and the nation's highest-ranking military officer to explain the new Afghanistan plan in Capitol Hill hearings to begin Wednesday.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/obama-to-unveil-afghan-plan-at-west-point.html



unhappycamper comment: The cost of the Afghanistan occupation goes from $71 billion dollars a year to $104 billion dollars a year, which is more than one third the cost of the entire 2000 military budget ($302 billion). We are going to spend ourselves into obscurity.

This is the kind of crap Bush the Lesser used to pull. Anytime he had a big military announcement to make that he knew wouldn't be popular he would make the announcement in front of a bunch of military people where he knew he would get a good photo op. Come on President Obama you are a better person than this quit listening to your handlers and do what you know is right.

If so, there sounds like there's a sliver of hope public opinion could sway them to make a stand.

Then again, Congressional Democrats have hardly shown much backbone for the last nine years.