The West Point Speech
EmailPresident Obama convened more meetings of key national security advisers Sunday at the White House, to prepare for the rollout of his new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One matter accomplished in the meeting, a source said, was an agreement on some language to use in discussing the new way forward.
Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes gave the president a first draft of the speech Sunday, and the president is in the process of his red pen treatment, heavily re-writing the speech as is his wont.
Sources say the speech will touch on these major points:
1) The president said last week it is his intention to “finish the job” in Afghanistan; he will have to explain to a very war weary public just what that job is and why it matters to them. The focus of the new strategy, sources say, will be going after al Qaeda and affiliated extremists, with less of an emphasis on nation-building.
2) President Obama will also acknowledge to the American people that the US does not have unlimited resources in terms of manpower and money to do this job; part of the president’s challenge is explaining that while he’s sending more than 30,000 new US troops to Afghanistan — bringing the total to around 100,000 — he is just as keenly focused on bringing them home. The idea is to convey that this mission is to complete the work; US troops will not be in Afghanistan in this number in eight years, he will say.
3) There is obviously an international audience for this speech as well, including our NATO allies, whom the president is trying to rally to contribute 5-10,000 more troops. So part of this speech will be that extremists in the Af-Pak region are not one country’s problem, nor is it an issue impacting just that one region of the world. This must be an international effort, the president will say.
4) And finally the president will convey to the Afghan government that it needs to get its act together and improve governance and combat corruption, a push he will make by saying the US will insist on very strict benchmarks.
Very quickly after the speech US troops will be sent out for deployment in the South and East of Afghanistan, sources tell ABC News, especially Kandahar and Helmand Province.
Watch our GMA report here:
– jpt
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
Lets tell the taliban and alqaeda that we cant afford this war and we want to get out, then they can hide and wait. Then they can come back after we are broke and the health care reform has dried up any moneies we might have had in reserve. Some leader???.
Posted by: earl | November 30, 2009, 8:39 am 8:39 am
“Very quickly after the speech US troops will be sent out for deployment in the South and East of Afghanistan, sources tell ABC News, especially Kandahar and Helmand Province.”
Um, why do they release statements like this?
Posted by: Krakatoa | November 30, 2009, 8:57 am 8:57 am
can someone explain to me why every speech BO gives is so crucial to his presidency?? is that all the substance we have for this guy? he loathes the military.. his speaking at west point is just another chance at a photo op.. trying to convey a certain image, which is false btw
Posted by: realman1963 | November 30, 2009, 9:00 am 9:00 am
yeah….they didn’t know that we dont want to be there, or that we’re broke….it’s obama’s fault that they have basic deductive skills…if he wouldnt have said this then we would have won years ago…..you know what else they know?….that americans are a bunch of crybabies when they loose an election and the opposition wont stand behind their president for nothing….
Posted by: mattm moshier | November 30, 2009, 9:01 am 9:01 am
How about instead of West Point to get in front of mothers and fathers who sent their children to Afghanistan and Iraq. Some serious explanation of the White House war policies is way overdue. This is not what was promised. Bring the troops home NOW!
Posted by: H1N1hysteria | November 30, 2009, 9:04 am 9:04 am
Iran announced it will build TEN MORE URANIUM ENRICHNENT plants! West Point speeches and photos taken at Dover Delaware do not seem to matter to tyrants. Why do you think they are so emboldened?
Posted by: pauldia | November 30, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am
His giving the speech at West Point is strictly window dressing. He is looking for a grace way out of the war without looking like a weakling. I suspect we’ll see his traditional finger waving and lecturing. He got us headed towards another Vietnam, with the politicians directing the war. Shades of LBJ.
Posted by: Willie12345 | November 30, 2009, 9:46 am 9:46 am
I feel sorry for the President. There is nothing he is prepared to say that will satisfy anyone. The truth is that his heart is not in this fight, but he feels compelled to wage it. The end result is that many brave young American soldiers will die before he either throws in the towel or until the Islamic terrorists commit a new atrocity that will steel his heart.
This speech will be a lot like his “Race Speech” during the campaign. The difference is the the number of adoring journalists is declining so this speech will land with a thud.
Posted by: Terry | November 30, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am
the setting was picked and the soldiers will be told to stand and cheer, and they will do as they are told because that have no recourse
Then they will be sent to their deaths, by a pretend president that doesn’t have the stomach for a fight….just fighting for higher poll numbers
Posted by: nothing more than a photo-op | November 30, 2009, 10:29 am 10:29 am
Every military memeber understands their duty. The President should not be giving ANY speeches on his war plans, just freekin’ carry them out. The only thing that will not hurt the strategy is if he only states a troop increase and nothing more. There is absolutely no reason for this grandstanding, he is the CiC and he should be able to make unpopular decisions and stand by them. Quit grandstanding and make them already.
Posted by: lfrichar | November 30, 2009, 11:13 am 11:13 am
AH YES, another speech, that’s what we need !
Posted by: Ron | November 30, 2009, 11:33 am 11:33 am
President Obama, do you really want to be the new “war president”? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do — destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they’ve always heard is true — that all politicians are alike. I simply can’t believe you’re about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn’t so.
It is not your job to do what the generals tell you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around. That’s the way General Washington insisted it must be. That’s what President Truman told General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to invade China. “You’re fired!,” said Truman, and that was that. And you should have fired Gen. McChrystal when he went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our kids in the armed services, but we f*#&in’ hate these generals, from Westmoreland in Vietnam to, yes, even Colin Powell for lying to the UN with his made-up drawings of WMD (he has since sought redemption).
Posted by: Michael Moore | November 30, 2009, 11:55 am 11:55 am
mattm.. i’ll stand by YOUR president as much as you stood by mine. sounds like you are an expert on crybabies…how did you like theresults from the 2000 presdiential election, oh man above men?
Posted by: realman1963 | November 30, 2009, 12:47 pm 12:47 pm
President Obama can make a speech whenever he feels it necessarry to do so. If you have a problem with it move to Canada.
Posted by: Mark Carter | November 30, 2009, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm
As always, ABC has a very dramatic graphics for our President. The only problem I have with this is that the people who put their life in a line of fire should put upfront but not the politicians who are trying to safe their face and sinking pool numbers with another “crucial” speech. Decision on Afghanistan is crucial and long overdue but not the speech.
Posted by: H1N1hysteria | November 30, 2009, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
All good leaders make good speeches,.. Kennedy,..Reagan,it is a sign of leadership to be able to communicate to the herd. Some of us find him inspirational,unlike your foolish president Bush Jr who could not even articulate a complete sentance.
Posted by: Mark | November 30, 2009, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm
Michael Moore —- McChrystal went to the press with a small amount of information from his assessment that Obama asked him to do. Obama fired McKiernan before McChrystal took over, so do you want Obama to look like the CiC that fires Generals? McChrystal was letting our allies know what his assessment entailed. He was not demanding anything, he was giving Obama what he says he needed. At least, after 90 days, Obama made a decision which is about as long as McChrystal took to actually complete the assessment itself!
Posted by: lfrichar | November 30, 2009, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
Mark — I think it’s funny you all take every chance possible to continue to bash Bush. This is about Obama making a speech and you found a way to do it! Poor partisan people.
Posted by: lfrichar | November 30, 2009, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
I think its funny that after the people elect a President that thinks and makes intelligent, tactful decisions….That you bash him at every oppurtunity. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not..BUSH PUT US IN THIS MESS! YOU HAND THE NEW PRESIDENT A FIXED DECK,AND PIONT FINGERS AT HIM WHEN HE CANT CLEAN UP THE MESS IMMEDIATELY, I HAVE TWO WORDS FOR YOU, USE YOUR IMAGINATION.
Posted by: Mark | November 30, 2009, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
“You Guys Make a Pretty Good Photo Op”
President Obama
Osan Air Base, South Korea
November 20, 2009
It is vital Obama make this announcement with a military audience as a back-drop. He has little credibility with the military and with the public and needs the crutch of the optics West Point provides.
Posted by: tjp612 | November 30, 2009, 3:00 pm 3:00 pm
Posted by: tjp612 | Nov 30, 2009 3:00:18 PM
Still trying to get mileage out of the parroted talking point about South Korea, even after it was debunked?
The right wing are the queens of cheap shots and distortion.
More smear campaigns . .. yawn.
Try finding something of substance.
Posted by: tierra | November 30, 2009, 3:08 pm 3:08 pm
Tierra – How much does OFA pay? Do they pay by the hour or by word count?
“Try finding something of substance.”
This is of substance – Can you explain why Obama would make this announcement at West Point rather than (as other presidents have) from the Oval Office?
Posted by: tjp612 | November 30, 2009, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
This is of substance
____________________________________
Have you forgotten the “Mission Accomplished” photo op? How many more have you forgotten or just aren’t well-enough informed to know about?
There is no substance to what you said – it’s a simple smear.
The purpose is easy to see when a person on a site like this almost every day smearing the President for anything he does.
Posted by: tierra | November 30, 2009, 3:44 pm 3:44 pm
Its so funny that those intelligent tactful decisions are exactly what Bush would have done but months earlier.
Posted by: earl | November 30, 2009, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
“There is no substance to what you said – it’s a simple smear.”
As usual, Tierra, no response to questions posed, instead boiler-plate, cut-and-paste responses…
But by all means, continue to attack the messenger in an effort to distract from The Annointed One’s failed presidency…..
Posted by: tjp612 | November 30, 2009, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm
“”"BUSH PUT US IN THIS MESS! YOU HAND THE NEW PRESIDENT A FIXED DECK,AND PIONT FINGERS AT HIM WHEN HE CANT CLEAN UP THE MESS IMMEDIATELY, I HAVE TWO WORDS FOR YOU, USE YOUR IMAGINATION.”"
Posted by: Mark
Funny, that’s 3 words! I am not pointing fingers, I am holding Obama acountable for his promises, are you? Obama, “I will withdraw troops from Iraq in 16 months”. Obama, “Afgfhanistan is America’s war and I have the strategy to bring this war to a close”. Then, in May, he reiterated he had a strategy in Afghanistan and now he is deciding on a strategy? Maybe you don’t see things the way you should, but OBAMA HIMSELF made those statements, not Bush. Get with the here and now would you?
Posted by: lfrichar | November 30, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
One more inappropriate “photo op” from the President. Instead of giving the speech in the Oval Office as a true leader would do, he has to use a military setting to back him up. What a joke.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | November 30, 2009, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
HE should be wise enough not to expose himself too much on endless speeches — someday people like me will get sick of the rhetoric speeches.
Whenever I think of the present PREZ, a big mouth appeared in front of me, talking talking talking.
Posted by: talk from sf | November 30, 2009, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
Can you explain why Obama would make this announcement at West Point rather than (as other presidents have) from the Oval Office?
Posted by: tjp612 | Nov 30, 2009 3:21:01 PM
_________________________________
Have you forgotten the “Mission Accomplished” photo op? How many more have you forgotten or just aren’t well-enough informed to know about?
Posted by: tierra | November 30, 2009, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
The speech is NOT necessary as many of you point out but to me it is. I would like to know if the president has a plan for the war. As a US citizen, I would like to be included in the matters of the country. True, he is the commander in chief & hence why the orders to the generals have already been given in private, the State Dept. has talked w/ Karzai & Obama w/ other world leaders. Its time HE talks to the people. Oval office or not, it doesn’t matter.
This isn’t Iraq or Vietnam. This is Afghanistan. A battlefield between allies & insurgents. Home base to the people who struck our homeland on Sept. 11. I’ll stand behind my commander in chief & his forces as it once use to be in this country during a time of war.
Posted by: JackDonaughy | November 30, 2009, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
“Have you forgotten the “Mission Accomplished” photo op? How many more have you forgotten or just aren’t well-enough informed to know about?”
Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” photo op was, in retrospect, ill-conceived. But, Bush’s “photo op” was done AFTER a controversial decision had been made to invade Iraq. Where did Bush announce to the nation that the U.S. would attack / had attacked Iraq? It wasn’t in a “photo op” atmosphere with troops used as props to prop up lack of credibility with military and public. I can’t remember where it was done exactly (don’t care to look it up), but I’d bet my next paycheck it was done either in White House, Oval Office, or on Capitol Hill.
Posted by: tjp612 | November 30, 2009, 8:14 pm 8:14 pm
Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” photo op was, in retrospect, ill-conceived.
_________________________________
Sorry you don’t like Obama making an announcement about troops in front of troops – touch luck.
You smear him and pick on everything he does, so nothing new here. Business as usual . . . yawn . …
“It wasn’t in a “photo op” atmosphere with troops used as props to prop up lack of credibility with military and public. I can’t remember where it was done exactly (don’t care to look it up)”
Posted by: tjp612 | Nov 30, 2009 8:14:43 PM
________________________
Yes, that’s your problem – little knowledge and less desire to do legitimate research. That kind of approach leaves you largely ignorant and in the dark.
Posted by: tierra | November 30, 2009, 10:40 pm 10:40 pm
*tough
Posted by: tierra | November 30, 2009, 10:45 pm 10:45 pm
let’s face it- the reason for the speech/photo op is try and please his nutjob base. he’s tryin to plead his case- the whole focus will not be on victory, but detailing, as abc put it, the size , duration and every other detail the enemy needs to fight us effectively. good job BO.
Posted by: realman1963 | December 1, 2009, 3:15 am 3:15 am
Wow, yet another prime time speech? I think Obama loves to read from Teleprompter and hear himself.
Posted by: TxBoB | December 1, 2009, 8:13 am 8:13 am
how much is it costing the American people to take obama to west point to make this speech instead of giving it at the Oval Office?
it appears to Americans that as hard as obama worked to get to the White House he doesn’t like to stay there and work very often!
Posted by: mindy | December 1, 2009, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm