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President Barack Obama speaks about the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) |
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The Obama Afghanistan speech lasted approximately 35 minutes. Speaking live from the Eisenhower Theater at West Point Academy, President Obama addressed the nation. The President stated that he wants 30,000 additional troops to be in Afghanistan by July 2010. He also stated that he wants to withdraw forces from Afghanistan by July 2011. Due to the length of time from commitment to withdrawal, the surge is temporary. After the speech, President Obama took some time to meet with some of the West Point cadets.
There is no doubt that the challenges and tasks that lie ahead regarding Afghanistan are daunting. There is a great chance that come July 2011, Americans will be stating that Afghanistan was a failure. There are approximately 68,000 U.S troops and 45,000 NATO troops currently serving in Afghanistan.
President Obama began by addressing several major concerns. These included the commitment to the war in Afghanistan, the scope of American interests and strategy.
One interesting fact to remember regarding the President’s speech is that for many Americans, the thought of war seems old, or not as fresh as it did when former president George Bush first committed troops to combat. After 9/11 it was easier to convince the nation that our security was at risk and that we needed to go to war (not everyone was convinced, however). The President’s announcement of a troop surge came at a time that the war has been fought for 8 years, for many Americans, the war does not evoke the same feelings of immediacy as it once did.
President Obama reminded the nation of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. He stated, “We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people. They struck at our military and economic nerve centers. They took the lives of innocent men, women, and children without regard to their faith or race or station.
Were it not for the heroic actions of passengers on board one of those flights, they could have also struck at one of the great symbols of our democracy in Washington and killed many more.
As we know, these men belonged to al Qaeda, a group of extremists who have distorted and defiled Islam, one of the world's great religions, to justify the slaughter of innocents. al Qaeda's base of operations was in Afghanistan, where they were harbored by the Taliban, a ruthless, repressive and radical movement that seized control of that country after it was ravaged by years of Soviet occupation and civil war and after the attention of America and our friends had turned elsewhere.
Just days after 9/11, Congress authorized the use of force against al Qaeda and those who harbored them, an authorization that continues to this day. The vote in the Senate was 98-0; the vote in the House was 420-1.
For the first time in its history, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invoked Article 5, the commitment that says an attack on one member nation is an attack on all. And the United Nations Security Council endorsed the use of all necessary steps to respond to the 9/11 attacks. America, our allies, and the world were acting as one to destroy al Qaeda's terrorist network and to protect our common security.
Under the banner of this domestic unity and international legitimacy -- and only after the Taliban refused to turn over Osama bin Laden -- we sent our troops into Afghanistan.”
I believe with every fiber of my being that we as Americans can still come together behind a common purpose. For our values are not simply words written into parchment. They are a creed that calls us together and that has carried us through the darkest of storms as one nation, as one people. America, we are passing through a time of great through a time of great trial (ph) and the message that send in the midst of these storms must be clear: That our cause is just, our resolve unwavering. We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure and future that represents not the deepest of fears, but the highest of hopes. Thank you. God bless you and God Bless the United States of America.”
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