1. If the President sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, does that count as a “surge?” Simply put, no, because the use of that term implies an Iraq-like strategy of ramping up forces to the maximum of what the generals are requesting. It has been widely reported that General McChrystal’s assessment for additional troops to achieve maximum chance of success was between 60,000 and 80,000 troops. While the President’s decision is better than no new troops at all, it falls short of that assessment. Additionally, the White House plans to …
The AP reports today that “a request for new troops from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan may have to be revised now that there is growing uncertainty inside the Obama administration over whether to escalate the American commitment to the eight-year war.” General Stanley McChrystal is set to deliver his troop request, believed to be upwards of 40,000 additional troops, by the end of the week. It is now up to President Obama to decide if he will keep his promise to the American people when he committed to winning …
