Reporting from Washington and West Point, N.Y. —
Speaking to cadets at West Point, some of whom have fought in Afghanistan and others who may soon be deployed there, Obama said the administration would rush all the additional combat troops into the country by next summer. But those forces would not stay any longer than necessary to ensure U.S. security, Obama said, noting that the cost of the decade's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now approaches $1 trillion.
"I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Obama said. "This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by Al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak."
But he refused to commit to a prolonged engagement.
"I reject this course because it sets goals that are beyond what we can achieve at a reasonable cost, and what we need to achieve to secure our interest," he said.
Based on Obama's schedule, the war would begin to wind down nearly 10 years after it began -- and as the 2012 presidential campaign begins to heat up.
The timetable may please members of Obama's own party, who have pushed him to set a clear exit strategy for the war. But others expressed alarm that Obama had signaled an unraveling of the troop buildup even before it has begun.
"A date for withdrawal sends exactly the wrong message to both our friends and our enemies -- in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the entire region -- all of whom currently doubt whether America is committed to winning this war," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "A withdrawal date only emboldens Al Qaeda and the Taliban, while dispiriting our Afghan partners and making it less likely that they will risk their lives to take our side in this fight."
Conflicting opinions about the merits of setting a timetable for withdrawal extended to American forces already deployed in Afghanistan's Helmand province, the Taliban heartland, where Marines and sailors watched the speech on a small television in a tent given over to weight-lifting and aerobics equipment.
"We need a timetable, it's been eight years and we're still here," said sailor Travis Engebretson, 22, of Missoula, Mont. "I think it's doable if we press hard."
But sailor Travis Love, 19, of New Bremen, Ohio, was dubious about the 18-month deadline.
"He thinks we're fighting a set war -- you go, win and then go home," Love said. "But it isn't like that here. This is an unconventional war being fought by unconventional people."
Many Afghan civilians appreciate the increased security brought by foreign forces, and fear a Taliban resurgence once the American troops leave. But they balk at the idea of an open-ended presence.
Across the border in Pakistan, officials worry that a sharp increase in troop levels will only push the Taliban out of Afghanistan and into the wild tribal areas along their border.
In a briefing with news columnists before his speech, Obama dismissed concerns that signaling a withdrawal date would encourage the enemy to wait for U.S. forces to leave.
"If you follow the logic of this argument then you would never leave," Obama said. "Essentially, you'd be signing on to have Afghanistan as a protectorate of the United States indefinitely."
Beyond that, Obama said, without a timetable the United States would have "very little leverage" to push the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to prepare for the day when it would have to handle security and fend off the Taliban on its own.
But even with the timetable, Obama left himself ample room to keep tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan for years to come. Administration officials said the pace of the withdrawal had not been decided, and would be determined by conditions on the ground.
While committing to when the withdrawal would begin, Obama said, "I will not make a definitive decision at this point about the slope of the drawdown."
Obama's decision came after months of deliberation -- described by detractors as "dithering" -- over the course of a war that has already claimed the lives of 929 U.S. troops. The president appeared sensitive to the charge of indecisiveness, assuring those who will be doing the fighting that his lengthy policy review allowed him to "ask the hard questions and explore all the different options."
The coming increase will bring the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to nearly 100,000, triple the number when the president was sworn in.
