President Obama's West Point Speech

Did any of you get to see president Obama give his speech at West Point? Or at least read about it in the news? Or at least hear about it at all? I am guessing you probably have, but just in case you haven't I would advise you to go check it out.

President Obama's speech was really a surprise to me...wait, no it wasn't. Obama's speech at West Point only epitomized what he has been doing since before he took office and what he is now doing in office, and that is walking the line on important issues. From before he took office to this very day president Obama has always walked the line on major issues; trying to appease one side without losing the support of the other, and that is exactly what he did again when he spoke at West Point.

In his speech he announced that he would be sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in response to General McCrystal's request. Sounds good right? I mean, get them over there and lets end this thing! Well that would be a good thing, if General McCrystal had requested 30,000 troops. In reality though, he requested 60,000 troops with a minimum of 40,000. Obviously president Obama knows better than the General on the field, otherwise he wouldn't have ignored his request for 60,000 more troops, right? Wrong. All he is doing is playing his "keep everyone happy" game.

A lot of people want the president to pull our troops out of Afghanistan, they want our sons, husbands, wives, brothers, and other loved ones home (and rightfully so). But to pull out now would only give the Al Qaeda another chance to re-organize and launch more terrorist attacks, and so, there are other people who want president Obama to just send the troops over, end it now, and then get our boys back. I personally am not a fan of the first plan, because I think it would jeopardize our national security. President Obama though, decided he needed to play his game with this issue. He sends over half of the soldiers what General McCrystal requested, and then said that in 18 months we will pull our troops out. A perfect example of walking the line and keeping everyone happy.

Not everyone is happy though. Think of what this means for our soldiers. General McCrystal wanted those 60,000 troops to do a once and for all elimination of the Al Qaeda and other terrorist forces. When president Obama sends him only 30,000, how is he supposed to carry out his plan, when he had expected 60,000? All president Obama is doing is: hampering General McCrystal's plan, dragging out the war, and, ultimately, getting more of our troops killed. I can say that last part because every day that our troops spend over there is another day that they run the risk of dying. When you drag out the war like president Obama is doing, it increases the chances of getting more of our troops killed. All of that so that the president can "keep everyone happy". How do you think our troops feel about this? I will tell you what. If I was a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq and I heard that the president had just done that I would not be happy at all. Now, I am not saying that president Obama is trying to get our troops killed, I do not think he would do that, but by only sending 30,000 troops and dragging out the war the chances of more troops being killed increases.

I just want to say one last thing. I believe pulling the troops out now would be a mistake. We have come this far, I think we should finish it. But, pulling them out now, I think, is a lot better of an idea than what he has decided to do. I think We should send the 60,000 troops and finish it once and for all, but I would pull them all our right now rather than drag it out and then not finish the job anyway. President Obama needs to start taking a side. Even if it it not the side that I personally agree with. It is impossible to win when the president plays the "keep everyone happy" game. Comments, questions, critiques, and corrections are welcome anytime. Thanks for reading.