Afghan war decision toughest of presidency: Obama

WASHINGTON, Dec 13, 2009 (AFP) - US President Barack Obama said Sunday that his decision to pour 30,000 more US troops into the war in Afghanistan was the most difficult of his presidency so far.

Acknowledging his move to escalate the conflict flew in the face of a war-weary public, Obama said it would be clear within a year whether the surge was working but left the door open to adjusting his approach if necessary.


The newly crowned Nobel laureate told CBS that attending ceremonies for fallen soldiers returning home in flag-draped coffins and visiting scarred veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had deeply marked him.

"There is nothing more profound. And it is a solemn obligation on the part of me as commander in chief to get those decisions right," he said.

Just days before he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and after months of deliberations, Obama unveiled his new Afghan strategy in a speech to cadets at the prestigious West Point military academy.

"That was actually probably the most emotional speech that I've made, in terms of how I felt about it. Because I was looking out over a group of cadets, some of whom were going to be deployed in Afghanistan. And potentially some might not come back," Obama said of his December 1 address.

"There is not a speech that I've made that hit me in the gut as much as that speech."

Asked on the CBS program "60 Minutes" if the decision to pour more troops into Afghanistan was the toughest yet of his young presidency, he replied: "Absolutely."

But he cautioned against any triumphalist notion of war as he said had occurred under his predecessor, George W. Bush.

"There was a tendency to say, 'We can go in. We can kick some tail. This is some glorious exercise.' When in fact, this is a tough business."

The latest troop increase fulfilled in part a request by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 more forces in a bid to halt the Taliban's growing momentum and bring security to major population centers.

US allies have pledged some 6,800 reinforcements while US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has revealed Obama had approved the possible deployment of an extra 3,000 troops.

Obama noted he could shift his revamped strategy depending on how the situation unfolds. "If the approach that's been recommended doesn't work, then yes, we're going to be changing approaches," he said.

In his first interview since ramping up the war in Afghanistan, Obama also defended himself against criticisms that by setting a July 2011 date to begin a US withdrawal, he was emboldening Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Without a deadline, "the message we are sending to the Afghans is, 'It's business as usual. This is an open-ended commitment,'" Obama said.

"There are I think elements in Afghanistan who would be perfectly satisfied to make Afghanistan a permanent protectorate of the United States -- in which they carry no burden... That's not what the American people signed off for when they went into Afghanistan in 2001."

As the eight-year war hit its highest-ever levels of violence, the president said he reached his decisions "because I think it's the right thing to do. And that's my job."

Nearly 500 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan this year, most of them Americans, making it the deadliest year for US forces in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion, according to the website icasualties.org.

A 1,500-strong Marine contingent is due to arrive in southern Helmand province this week as part of a vanguard of army and navy engineers set to prepare the logistics for thousands more due in the coming months.


by Katherine Haddon
(c) 2009 AFP