Saying the time has come to "end this war successfully," President Barack Obama confirmed Tuesday that an additional 30,000 American military personnel will join the war in Afghanistan. The President also said U.S. troops would begin coming home in the summer of 2011.
Speaking at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, Obama said the additional personnel will be on their way overseas early next year.
"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," the president said. "They will increase our ability to train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans."
Obama noted that the conflict in Afghanistan was an international effort, and as such, he has asked that the U.S. commitment be joined by its allies. "Some have already provided additional troops, and we are confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
The new troop deployment will bring to 98,000 the number of U.S. service men and women stationed in Afghanistan. More than 100,000 remain deployed in Iraq.
Obama said the troop surge is designed to help the Afghan military assume responsibility for the country's security.
"Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011," Obama said. "It will be clear to the Afghan government - and, more importantly, to the Afghan people - that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country.
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