President visits West Point to announce Afghanistan strategy

By Linda MastinDecember 2, 2009

President announces Afghanistan strategy
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President visits with West Point cadets
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President meets with cadets
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WEST POINT, N.Y. (Army News Service, Dec. 2, 2009) -- President Obama made a prime-time speech to officially announce his strategy for Afghanistan to the nation Tuesday night at the U.S. Military Academy with all members of the Corps of Cadets either present or watching from remote locations.

While waiting for the arrival of the commander-in-chief, the cadets and dignitaries in the audience participated in an invocation by U.S. Military Academy Chaplain Col. Michael Durham and the singing of the national anthem by Sgt. 1st Class Mary Kay Messenger.

Department of History assistant professor Col. James Seidule then delivered a welcome and a brief history of presidential visits to West Point throughout its more than 200-year history.

Superintendent Lt. Gen. Buster Hagenbeck took the stage, commenting that while the president would not discuss amnesty for cadets in his remarks, he had authorized Hagenbeck to grant it to the members of the corps for minor disciplinary actions. This, of course, brought a loud cheer from the cadets. He left the lectern with a rousing "Beat Navy."

After a few minutes of final preparation, to include placing the presidential seal on the lectern, Obama began his address to the nation.

"I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan - the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion," Obama said. "It is an honor for me to do so here - at West Point - where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our security and to represent what is finest about our country."

He spoke about why Americans are fighting in Afghanistan -- referring to Sept. 11, 2001, the Taliban and al-Qaida extremists and the need to respond to these attacks.

He then outlined his basic strategy, which starts with a 30,000-troop increase to begin in early 2010 and an acceleration of the training of Afghan military and security forces to allow them to better secure their country against the al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents, so that control can be handed back to them.

"As cadets, you volunteered for service during this time of danger. Some of you have fought in Afghanistan. Many will deploy there. As your commander-in-chief, I owe you a mission that is clearly defined, and worthy of your service. That is why, after the Afghan voting was completed, I insisted on a thorough review of our strategy," he said.

Additionally, this plan has a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan before the end of his first term as president, as well as an increase in NATO and other allied nations' military presence.

The president said he has been talking with many of these leaders to encourage them to increase the number of troops they are deploying.

Obama took time after the speech to shake hands with cadets and other guests. He also posed for photos with many of the cadets, who had their digital cameras at the ready. He then headed to Marine One to fly back to Stewart Air National Guard Base and then back to Washington, D.C.

(Editor's Note: Linda Mastin serves with USMA Public Affairs. She is in charge of Command Information and Web products.)