WASHINGTON –- US President Barack Obama has ordered a surge of 30,000 troops to war-ravaged Afghanistan to reverse the Taliban's momentum as part of his highly-anticipated new strategy for the eight-year deadly war. "The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 the fastest pace possible so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers," Obama said in a speech from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The surge will bring US troop in the Asian Muslim country to more than 100,000.
The number of American forces in Afghanistan has almost tripled under Obama, who only assumed office in January of this year.
Obama reached the surge decision after more than three months of debates and deliberations with to military and political advisers.
In his speech, he tried to assure impatient Americans that the surge will help bringing the war to a "successful conclusion."
"It will increase our ability to train competent Afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight," Obama said.
"These are the resources that we need to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan," he told an audience of West Point cadets, staff and guests.
"After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home."
Click to Read Obama's Speech
Obama reportedly aims to withdraw most US forces from Afghanistan by the end of his current term in January 2013.
The US, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001, has been facing growing attacks from the resurgent Taliban, ousted by the invasion.
Public opposition is growing to a war that has so far claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops.
A new survey by the Gallup organization released Tuesday showed 55 percent of Americans disapprove Obama's handling of the war.
Obama said his new strategy seeks to deny al-Qaeda a safe haven, reverse the Taliban's momentum and strengthen Afghan security forces and government.
"It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan."
Obama said his administration would support the Kabul government's efforts to reconcile with some elements of Taliban.
"We will support efforts by the Afghan government to open the door to those Taliban who abandon violence and respect the human rights of their fellow citizens."
But security experts believe that victory in Afghanistan would need a lot more than Obama’s surge.
"In a complex environment like Afghanistan, there are no guarantees about outcomes from a policy, including an appropriate policy to substantially increase the numbers of US troops," professor Vanda Felbab-Brown, fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, told IslamOnline.
Professor Felbab-Brown, who specializes in issues of conflict and national security, acknowledges that the surge would make a difference for the Western troops in Afghanistan.
"The question, however, is whether it will make sufficient difference on the ground," he noted.
"If the bulk of the forces are deployed to Helmand, Kandahar, and the east, will the existing forces be able to prevent, resist, and defeat a Taliban campaign in the north or the west?"
Taliban is pursuing protracted guerrilla warfare against the US-led forces and the Kabul government.
Felbab-Brown fears that Afghanistan is already "on the verge of sinking into an abyss".
"The military and civilian surge the US committed itself to undertake are not a guarantee that such a highly dangerous outcome can be avoided," she maintains.
"But it is the last chance the United States and the international community have in Afghanistan."
Source: IslamOnline
The surge will bring US troop in the Asian Muslim country to more than 100,000.
The number of American forces in Afghanistan has almost tripled under Obama, who only assumed office in January of this year.
Obama reached the surge decision after more than three months of debates and deliberations with to military and political advisers.
In his speech, he tried to assure impatient Americans that the surge will help bringing the war to a "successful conclusion."
"It will increase our ability to train competent Afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight," Obama said.
"These are the resources that we need to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan," he told an audience of West Point cadets, staff and guests.
"After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home."
Click to Read Obama's Speech
Obama reportedly aims to withdraw most US forces from Afghanistan by the end of his current term in January 2013.
The US, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001, has been facing growing attacks from the resurgent Taliban, ousted by the invasion.
Public opposition is growing to a war that has so far claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops.
A new survey by the Gallup organization released Tuesday showed 55 percent of Americans disapprove Obama's handling of the war.
Obama said his new strategy seeks to deny al-Qaeda a safe haven, reverse the Taliban's momentum and strengthen Afghan security forces and government.
"It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan."
Obama said his administration would support the Kabul government's efforts to reconcile with some elements of Taliban.
"We will support efforts by the Afghan government to open the door to those Taliban who abandon violence and respect the human rights of their fellow citizens."
But security experts believe that victory in Afghanistan would need a lot more than Obama’s surge.
"In a complex environment like Afghanistan, there are no guarantees about outcomes from a policy, including an appropriate policy to substantially increase the numbers of US troops," professor Vanda Felbab-Brown, fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, told IslamOnline.
Professor Felbab-Brown, who specializes in issues of conflict and national security, acknowledges that the surge would make a difference for the Western troops in Afghanistan.
"The question, however, is whether it will make sufficient difference on the ground," he noted.
"If the bulk of the forces are deployed to Helmand, Kandahar, and the east, will the existing forces be able to prevent, resist, and defeat a Taliban campaign in the north or the west?"
Taliban is pursuing protracted guerrilla warfare against the US-led forces and the Kabul government.
Felbab-Brown fears that Afghanistan is already "on the verge of sinking into an abyss".
"The military and civilian surge the US committed itself to undertake are not a guarantee that such a highly dangerous outcome can be avoided," she maintains.
"But it is the last chance the United States and the international community have in Afghanistan."
Source: IslamOnline
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