That’s a better number than I thought he would come through with. Perhaps as troops are able to leave Iraq, they will be transferred to Afghanistan.
Wondering what Geneal McCrystal is thinking right now.
Maybe, but even the 34000 is inflated as not all are combat troops.
Here’s ABC News back in October:
ABC’s Martha Raddatz reports: Among three different troop options currently before the President and his national security team, General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, as first reported here yesterday, favors an increase of some 40,000 more troops. A source familiar with the document says that’s the minimum McChrystal believes is needed for a chance for success in Afghanistan.
So the 40000 was the absolute minimum not need to win, but merely for a chance at winning.
And Obama wastes 5 months and eventually says “Ok, General, I’ll give you 340000”
He’d never do this on heath care. If they said we need to insure 30 million, he’d never say “ok, we’ll only insure 25 million” or if they need to spend 400 million, “ok, we’ll only spend 340 million”.
It’s clear he just doesn;t care about this.