Declaring 'our security is at stake,' President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan Tuesday night, nearly tripling the force he inherited as commander in chief. He promised an impatient public he would begin bringing units home in 18 months.
The buildup to about 100,000 troops will begin almost immediately — the first Marines will be in place by Christmas — and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone.
In a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, the president told the nation his new policy was designed to 'bring this war to a successful conclusion,' though he made no mention of defeating Taliban insurgents or capturing al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
The New York Times has a nice roundup of quotes from some prominent military blogs.
And at least one twit is trying to claim that orders to participate in "non-defensive" wars constitute illegal orders. Sigh.
By: Brant
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