Okay...we have the war threads in the Newsday forums... But, soon, this will become Obama's War. Say good night to those dreams of pull out, peace, and pseudo-isolationism:
President Barack Obama and his advisers have decided to expand significantly Afghanistan's security forces in the hope that a much larger professional army and national police force could fill a void left by the central government and do more to promote stability in the country, according to senior administration and Pentagon officials.
A plan awaiting final approval by the president would set a goal of about 400,000 troops and national police officers, more than twice the forces' current size, and more than three times the size that American officials believed would be adequate for Afghanistan in 2002, when the Taliban and Al Qaeda appeared to have been routed.
The officials said Mr. Obama was expected to approve a version of the plan in coming days as part of a broader Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy. But even members of Mr. Obama's national security team appeared taken aback by the cost projections of the program, which range from $10 billion to $20 billion over the next six or seven years.
More:
http://iht.com/articles/2009/03/19/asia/afghan.phpHe's long been saying that we need to do this, so this isn't a turnaround. But the Obama-philes I work with seem to have forgotten that he also had a war agenda.
