Saudi Arabia and India agree to study feasibility of establishing power grid    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR5.9 billion net profit after Zakat and Income Tax for YTD Q3    Economy minister emphasizes global partnerships to address pressing challenges Private investments in non-oil sector soar 70%    Saudi Arabia's GDP grows 2.8% in Q3, driven by non-oil sectors    PIF, HKMA sign MoU to establish $1 billion investment fund    Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian men to take off clothes as they evacuated war-torn Jabalya    North Korea fires suspected intercontinental missile    India celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights    'It was like a tsunami': Spaniards recount horror of deadly floods    Bahrain Crown Prince receives Saudi Interior Minister    In-person classes will remain suspended in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais schools on Thursday    HR Ministry takes penal action against 568 violators of Domestic Workers' Regulation    Derby Week makes its debut in the Roshn Saudi League    Al Nassr eliminated from King's Cup after a defeat to Al Taawoun    Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star, dies at 79    Othman Al Omeir receives Legacy of Change Medal at the UK Parliament for advocacy in media    Neymar joins Saudi fashion trend, donning traditional attire at Al Hilal match    Indonesia Days event celebrates cultural diversity at Al Suwaidi Park    Saudi Football Federation reappoints Hervé Renard to lead national team    Tarzan star Ron Ely dies aged 86    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







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Obama echoes Bush in Afghan plan
By Ron Fournier
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 03 - 12 - 2009

With echoes of George W. Bush's post-Sept. 11, 2001 call to arms, President Barack Obama worked diligently Tuesday night to make his wartime address sound like an endgame rather than what it was – a striking escalation of the US presence in Afghanistan.
Even as US voters grow impatient with the eight years of war and Democrats fret about their prospects in next year's elections, Obama made the hard decision to increase the US force in Afghanistan to 100,000 – nearly three times as many as when he took office.
Harder still, explaining it.
“I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan,” Obama said during his prime-time speech at the US Military Academy. “After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home.”
He did not say how many troops would pull out in July 2011 or how many would be left and for how long. What is the strategy behind his exit strategy? Obama gave scant clues.
He pledged to improve Afghan security forces, help improve Pakistan's ability to fight terrorists and press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to eliminate corruption.
But nothing – not even an intriguing, if vague, promise of an exit date – changes Obama's hard bottom line: A lot more Americans are going to fight and die in a war supported by merely 35 percent of the public.
Fellow Democrats in Congress are threatening to withhold war funding.
Liberal supporters are sounding cries of betrayal.
Republicans are praising the surge but accusing Obama of endangering troops with an exit date.
He took on his critics as deliberately as he reached his decision, literally counting off the concerns over his approach.
“First, there are those who suggest that Afghanistan is another Vietnam,” Obama said, raising the sad specter of Democrat Lyndon Johnson, whose presidency was consumed by the unpopular Asian war. Obama said Afghanistan, unlike Vietnam, was home to terrorists who spilled blood on US soil.
“Unlike Vietnam,” he added, “we are joined by a broad coalition of 43 nations that recognizes the legitimacy of our actions.” Both arguments echoed President Bush, who invoked the Sept. 11 attacks to buttress his foreign policies and made more of the “coalition of the willing” than was warranted.
Obama's strongest argument for war in Afghanistan also channeled Bush: “So, no – I do not make this decision lightly,” he said. “I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by Al-Qaida. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak.”
It makes sense that Obama borrowed some rhetoric from Bush; they're following the same path. Obama inherited Bush's wars in two nations that have confounded world powers for generations.
Like Bush, Obama spoke forcefully about defeating Al-Qaeda. But, in stark contrast, Obama never flatly promised victory at war.
Afghanistan would be brought to a “successful conclusion,” Obama said, and Iraq to a “responsible end.” Perhaps those wiggle words, more than any others Obama uttered Tuesday night, underscore the complexity of the commander in chief's decisions as he ends his first year.


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