Thanks to the Huffington Post
Yesterday, Tuesday, December 1, President Obama announced his new strategy for Afghanistan (interrupting US Democrazy’s favorite regularly scheduled programing).
What are some key quotes from the speech (to see key words check out the picture above)?
- “The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010“
- “…allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011.”
- “We must keep the pressure on al Qaeda, and to do that, we must increase the stability and capacity of our partners in the region.”
- “The days of providing a blank check are over. …,… We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable.”
- “Of course, this burden is not ours alone to bear. This is not just America’s war.”
- “…we will act with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.”
- “Our new approach in Afghanistan is likely to cost us roughly 30 billion dollars for the military this year, and I will work closely with Congress to address these costs as we work to bring down our deficit.”
- “…the message that we send in the midst of these storms must be clear: that our cause is just, our resolve unwavering.”
Here’s the complete speech if you want a longer read.
So what do people think of Obama’s speech?
Republican Senator John McCain has voiced his support stating:
The President has made the right decision to embrace a counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan and to resource it properly.
McCain, however, disagrees with Obama’s timeline for troop withdrawal, believing it to be ‘arbitrary’.
On the other side of the coin, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer supports
…the President’s mission and exit strategy for Afghanistan, but I do not support adding more troops…
Its tough to make everyone happy.
To see what the blogosphere is saying check out Andrew Sullivan’s great collection of opinions.
For more voices here’s a wonderful collection of what TV’s talking heads are saying.
