Obama Keeping His Campaign Promise

President Obama is planning on sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. If this SHOCKS you, then you were not paying attention!

I can't believe that people are surprised over this. As he campaigned he stated it repeatedly from the begining he would send more troops into Afghanistan. Do I agree with his choice? Not really. I want our troops home. I think at this point we are throwing good after bad, over and over and over. President Obama still seems to have hope to fix a war that 8 years pass due. I do not have this hope. His change seems to be from an Iraq War to Afghanistan War , instead of the much hoped for "no war". Though I do not agree with his decision, I do not think he betrayed or deceived his followers. He is doing exactly what he said he would do since 2007 when he was campaigning for the Democratic Nomination. Say you don't the choice, say you want the troops home, but don't say you weren't warned!

On August 1, 2007 Obama gave a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. Sen Obama opens his speech with the first sentence containing 9/11. In fact, Obama used "9/11 " over 10 times and that is not including the references to NYC , the Twin Towers, or terrorist.
This at the time he was trying to sell himself as the "anti-war" candidate. Remember he didn't vote for Iraq War Resolution like Sen Clinton and Sen Edwards. Funny thing to that, he also was not in the position to vote for or against it, or even "present" as he was fond of doing in the Illinois Senate. The following excerpts are from that 2007 speech.

"And so, a little more than a year after that bright September day, I was in the streets of Chicago again, this time speaking at a rally in opposition to war in Iraq. I did not oppose all wars, I said. I was a strong supporter of the war in Afghanistan."

"It is time to turn the page. When I am President, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world’s most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland.
The first step must be getting off the wrong battlefield in Iraq, and taking the fight to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "

"As President, I would deploy at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan to re-enforce our counter-terrorism operations and support NATO’s efforts against the Taliban. As we step up our commitment, our European friends must do the same, and without the burdensome restrictions that have hampered NATO’s efforts. We must also put more of an Afghan face on security by improving the training and equipping of the Afghan Army and Police, and including Afghan soldiers in U.S. and NATO operations. "

"We must not, however, repeat the mistakes of Iraq. The solution in Afghanistan is not just military – it is political and economic. As President, I would increase our non-military aid by $1 billion. " Yeah, I don't see that happening now. If we have an extra billion dollars laying around, he might want to spend it HERE!

"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will. " Get it? Even in 2007 he was saying, he would not only fight in Afghanistan but would go into Pakistan!

To read the full speech from Aug 1, 2007 click here Obama's Speech at Woodrow Wilson Center - Council on Foreign Relations

Click here for this evening's speech http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/obama.afghanistan.speech.transcript/index.html