War on Terror

President Barack Obama on Tuesday December 8, 2009 said that he would be sending an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan by next summer. He also said that he plans to have all surviving American troops back home by July 2011. Addressing cadets and officers at West Point, Obama said: "As Commander-in-Chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. These are the resources that we need to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan." He states, "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." It is said that the new troops will cost the national treasury approximately 30 billion dollars.



Why is Obama still sending troops to are war that ended already? What are our American troops still doing in Afghanistan? President Obama states, "There is a more solemn duty as president than the decision to deploy our armed forces into harm's way;" however, he does seem to be in any rush to remove our troops, but instead he sends more. He states "I do it today mindful that the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action." The U.S. is still fighting the War on Terror even though the war officially ended in 2008. As the President of the United States Obama has the right to send troops to Afganistsan according to the Constitution's Article II, Section 2 which makes the President the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, but that does not mean put our troops in harms way inorder to befriend a Middle East country.

Sources

Keefe, Mike. "Afghanistan." Mike Keefe Political Cartoons - Updated Daily at InToon.com. 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. http://www.intoon.com/#78751.

"BBC NEWS Americas US to Boost Troops in Afghanistan." BBC NEWS News Front Page. 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. .