Obama to address nation on Afghanistan
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Ending months of review, President Obama is expected to address the nation next week to explain his policy on Afghanistan.
The president is expected to announce how many more troops will be sent to Afghanistan, now in its ninth year of war. The United States has authorized 68,000 troops for fighting and training, while NATO has committed 40,000.
Obama will decide whether to send as many as 40,000 more troops, as requested by the military, or to pick one of several options with fewer personnel.
NATO is also expected to send more people, with between 3,000 to 10,000 trainers and troops expected.
But perhaps more than the number of troops, it is the shape of the U.S. role in Afghanistan that is at stake in Obama’s policy re-evaluation, which began in September.
The issue is whether the United States should concentrate on counterinsurgency, fighting the resurgent Taliban to stop it from using the nation as a safe haven for Al Qaeda, or whether the United States should concentrate on training Afghan forces to deal with the Taliban, coupled with more aid to help bring the country into the 21st century.
Obama has signaled that he believes that it is important to do both.
In speeches, Obama has made it clear that he considers the fight against terrorism to be crucial but that the battle against Al Qaeda is in Pakistan, where the terror group fled after the Taliban was deposed.
But Obama has also argued that the United States and its allies must improve the situation within Afghanistan, meaning more aid and training personnel for the current government of Hamid Karzai, just re-elected president amid widespread reports of fraud and corruption.
Some American officials have raised questions about Karzai’s ability to govern and to fight the Taliban. Most notable has been U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry.
Another issue is the cost of sending more troops and what that would mean for the federal deficit. In the latest full discussion among national security advisers, Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, participated for the first time.
There are also political issues. Republicans have argued that Obama should grant the military all that it wants while liberal Democrats have raised questions about how much longer Obama intends to stay in Afghanistan.
-- Michael Muskal
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