According to a senior administration official, President Barack Obama will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan over the next six months. The addition will bring the total US forces in Afghanistan to over 100,000 with the hopes of reversing the Taliban’s gains.
The President’s decision comes a full three months after General Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, submitted his request for more troops. In August, General McChrystal warned that without additional forces the conflict “will likely result in failure.”
Obama’s delayed decision stirred much criticism of the commander in chief. As former Vice President Dick Cheney notes, the President’s actions projected “weakness” to our adversaries and raised questions of Obama’s support for US troops and commitment to win the war.
