By Alex Spillius in Washington and Ben Farmer in Kabul 8:14PM GMT 02 Dec 2009
After three months of deliberation, 36 intelligence reports and nearly as many leaks, the president told cadets at the West Point military academy on Tuesday night his new policy was designed to "bring this war to a successful conclusion".
In a speech in which he repeatedly stated that America did not have the budget or the will power for an "open-ended commitment", he announced a deployment of an additonal 30,000 US personnel before unveiling the most controversial element of his strategy: a pledge to begin bringing American forces home in July 2011.
The president reaffirmed his "over-arching goal" to "dismantle, disrupt and defeat" al-Qaeda on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6712583/Barack-Obama-Afghan-surge-is-a-war-with-an-end.htmlOK>>>>> now for today's news\\
President Obama pledges to press on in Afghan war
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama pledged on Monday to forge ahead with his Afghan war strategy and the Pentagon sought to dispel fears of a Taliban resurgence after militants shot down a helicopter killing 30 U.S. troops, mainly elite Navy SEALs.
Saturday's crash was the deadliest incident for U.S. forces since the war in Afghanistan began nearly a decade ago and followed a series of high-profile assassinations and attacks by the insurgents over the past several months.
The incidents have raised concerns about the extent of U.S. progress in the decade-long conflict, but Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta both said they were unwavering in their commitment to move ahead with the mission.
"We will press on and we will succeed," Obama said in a televised tribute to the dead. "Our troops will continue the hard work of transitioning to a stronger Afghan government and ensuring that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists."
Panetta, at a change of command ceremony at Special Operations Command in Florida, said the killings were a "reminder to the American people that we remain a nation at war" and promised to honor the dead by "showing the world our unyielding determination to press ahead."
"As heavy a loss as this was, it would even be more tragic if we allowed it to derail this country from our efforts to defeat al Qaeda and deny them a safe haven in Afghanistan," the defense secretary said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/08/us-afghanistan-violence-idUSTRE7750UW20110808