Thanks for starting this thread, 30A. I was going to myself this morning and got tied up.
I spent a great deal of time at West Point in my younger days when you could freely walk around, pre 9/11. The cadets are serious most times, especially when uniformed and in ceremony. But, also, you have to consider the subject and I do not think it would have been appropriate to show any kind of emotion after an address about continuing war. I did notice some looked like they were falling asleep. They must have had a long day. The Route towards West Point and bridges were all backed up yesterday and secured.
I was hoping that Obama would give me reason to feel more comfortable with his decision. Short of supposed terrorist threats and a more concentrated effort in certain regions, I was not convinced that this is the right strategy, not to mention the costs of an additional 30 Billion dollars in dire times as it is. Obama stated this was an international effort, and I wish he had been more specific about that-- who, how many- resources expended-- He gave a timeline of 18 months and I simply can not see how anything can be accomplished in such a short time, and the Taliban now knows this and will most likely hang low for a while. We're dealing with a corrupt government, (Karzai's brother has been linked more times to the drug trade than can be counted and this extends to all branches of government. 95% of the world's heroin supply comes from Afghanistan) We're dealing with religious zealotry, rough terrain, and their own form of justice there which has been happening longer than any of us have been around. I also have read that the Afghan's and Pakistani's have become more sympathetic to the Taliban offering them safe haven; much more so than in the past, which is why we are losing this fight big time, so Obama stating the Afghani people need us was not entirely true.
Maybe one of y'all can offer a better argument pro-surge. But, right now, this isn't sitting well with me.
