Excerpts from Tonight’s Speech
EmailThe White House provided these three excerpts from President Obama's speech tonight at West Point:
"The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest pace possible – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. They will increase our ability to train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans."
*
"Because this is an international effort, I have asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies. Some have already provided additional troops, and we are confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead. Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. Now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what’s at stake is not simply a test of NATO’s credibility – what’s at stake is the security of our Allies, and the common security of the world."
*
"Taken together, these additional American and international troops will 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. Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground. We will continue to advise and assist Afghanistan’s Security Forces to ensure that they can succeed over the long haul. But it will be clear to the Afghan government – and, more importantly, to the Afghan people – that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country."
- jpt
Obama: 'Now Is the Time For Common Sense Action' 
Romney Takes Aim at Conservatives
Boy, that’s the same song we heard about Iraq, and not unlike the song we heard about Vietnam.
Posted by: dream | December 1, 2009, 7:17 pm 7:17 pm
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”
This changity-change-change is working out much better than I ever expected!
Posted by: N2vip | December 1, 2009, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
He is all over the map, no clear statement of our mission there, no clear strategy. He is just reading the teleprompter, without passion, or seemingly even understanding the words he is speaking!
Posted by: Terry | December 1, 2009, 8:14 pm 8:14 pm
Posted by: N2vip | Dec 1, 2009 8:09:34 P
____________________________________
Obama ran on increasing the war effort in Afghanistan . . . that’s what he’s doing.
Posted by: tierra | December 1, 2009, 8:19 pm 8:19 pm
Headline.. Obama refuses to call 911 hijackers “Terrorist”
President seen as weak and indecisive
Soldiers in audience forced to applaud..Obama seen waiting for applause
Posted by: nothing more than a photo-op | December 1, 2009, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
I thought the President’s speech very good, and unlike the prior comment that there was no clear strateg, there was indeed clear strategy. And then I look at those young men who are ready to go to war for our country, with clear excitement to defend this nation. But then tonight every news channel will do their part to deflate this enthusiasm and try to demolish everything said by our President. The media and those who hate him will do more harm to this nation that any terrorist!
Posted by: Mimi in NC | December 1, 2009, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
—increasing the war effort in Afghanistan . . . that’s what he’s doing.
———
Yes again. Standby for increase 3, strategy 3, speech 3 coming to you in a few short months….
Posted by: Terry | December 1, 2009, 8:48 pm 8:48 pm
Funny how some idiots post comments before the speech has started.
Posted by: Mimi in NC | December 1, 2009, 8:50 pm 8:50 pm
As (I can only assume) one of the idiots you refer to, I guess that includes Jake Tapper, since he posted the EXCERPTS before POTUS spoke.
The three excerpts are fair game for comment, and, as it tiurned pit, were fairly representative of the speech they were excerpted from.
We didn’t feel the need to comment on the fruit of POTUS’s three month adventure in decision-making and responsibility. He can sign a $1T spending bill without a moment’s hesitation, but ask him to commit $30B to bring Pakistan/Afghanistan to a conclusion, and it takes months to inform his decision, which looks an AWFUL LOT like what HID Gen. requested MONTHS ago…
Just wait until America finds out the Gov’t wants EVERYONE to spend 15-20% of their income on health care insurance, under penalty of fines & possible imprisonment…
Posted by: N2vip | December 1, 2009, 9:48 pm 9:48 pm
Stupid iPhone: typo and incorrection:
typo: “We didn’t feel the need to WAIT UNTIL THE TEACHER TOLD US TO START comment on the fruit of POTUS’s three month adventure in decision-making and responsibility.”
incorrection: “HIS Gen.” (not HID)
Posted by: N2vip | December 1, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
“For what’s at stake is not simply a test of NATO’s credibility – what’s at stake is the security of our Allies, and the common security of the world.”
So, with the world’s security at stake, Obama will give the general he picked only 75% of the number of troops that the general requested for a “medium” risk strategy, and start pulling out in July of 2011 — less than 18 mos from when those troops start arriving early next year.
Do our soldiers get to use bullets the whole time they’re there, as needed?
Or does the “cost-benefit” of unlimited ammo outweigh all of the other spending Obama has in mind?
Definitely not a good omen. But all of those terrorists must be cracking open a couple of cold ones tonight.
If Obama thinks this is a winning way to go about . . . well, winning, then he must fault Roosevelt for not giving a speech in the middle of WWII to say that we’re going to pull out of that war in 18 months.
But then, Obama doesn’t have “winning” or “victory” in his vocabulary. So, he doesn’t have to achieve that result to justify pulling out . . . in his mind.
Posted by: TParty4USA | December 1, 2009, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
A mundane speech. He must have taken lessons from Bush’s monotonous deliveries. Where is the passion with this president? What does he believe in, other than his own image?
Posted by: EPU | December 2, 2009, 10:09 am 10:09 am
Posted by: EPU | Dec 2, 2009 10:09:51 AM
This was a sober and serious speech about a sober and serious issue.
Posted by: tierra | December 2, 2009, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
Really, what does it matter what Obama says? He never tells the truth anyway. Whatever he promises he ends up not doing, and what he promises NOT to do, he does.
On Jan. 15, 2008, in a Democratic debate, Obama told us he had put forward a plan to get our troops OUT of Iraq by the end of 2009.
OBAMA: “I have put forward a plan that will get our troops out [of Iraq] BY THE END OF 2009.”
Well, that bit of false promising helped him to win votes on Super Tuesday, didn’t it? — but the troops he said he would have OUT of Iraq by the end of 2009 are STILL THERE.
Posted by: dream | December 2, 2009, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
On Jan. 15, 2008, in a Democratic debate, Obama told us he had put forward a plan to get our troops OUT of Iraq by the end of 2009.
___________________________________
Establishing a withdrawal schedule for troops is a touch more complicated than establishing a bus schedule for Greyhound.
Things can never be blindly locked in – adjustments must be allowed for . . .
Posted by: tierra | December 2, 2009, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
“adjustments must be allowed for . . .”
True, but if anything Iraq is more peaceful NOW than it was when Obama made that commitment.
Obama made that statement ONLY to win votes on Super Tuesday. He then promptly abandoned that timeframe once the votes were counted.
Posted by: dream | December 3, 2009, 8:10 am 8:10 am