I say what the hell have we gained in these $^&it holes? Cheap oil? No. A pay back of our hard earned cash? No. A thank you? No. Any ties worth more then the paper they are printed on? No. What do I give a $^&T about some guy or gal who dont appriciate us wasting our cash and children and men and woman to give them what they dont want? How broke are we again? I know that Bush stuck us in two places of no consequence in the long run and ruined our economy by not acting on what he knew as Pres about the Wallstreet gang running rampet in a deregulated climate. Now not only are our soldiers suffering thanklessly by the indiginous but our Elderly have lost much of their retirements, people in general lost alot or everything and for what? We dont even have a desent gas price any longer. So what in the last nine years makes you or anyone proud to be an American? I'm askin??

@Peter Johnson: I think McChrystal would have liked many more - but knew he was up against a wall in getting even those numbers with the present administration. My bet is that's why the military took the unusual tact of presenting directly to the media (to try to force Obama to sign off on the 40K). Even that didn't work, and he got 10,000 fewer.I completely understand your thought about wanting to help the population - but I have to ask, do they even want our help, or want us there?It would seem that if the population genuinely hated the Taliban, all they would need is weapons, and the Taliban would quickly no longer be a threat. We know that it's possible for the population to unite - after all, they killed over 13,000 Soviet soldiers during the occupation - but I don't have a sense that they're well united against the extremists - and without that, our goal is imperiled.I think what we really need for victory there is the precise thing we got in Iraq. We need the extremists to turn on the people of Afghanistan.If the Taliban is deterred from attacking NATO military targets due to high casualties, they just might start attacking civilians (not unlike Iraq) - and that may be the sea change needed to finally unite the population.Regarding troop deployment and strategy, I have no clue. I don't believe the 30K are due to arrive until well into next year, so any plans now available are likely to be transient and fluid, as conditions there adjust and change.Anywho, a mess, any way you slice it.

King Valcano, R H just ripped you a new one.

@Bellevue Bum: Do you think the 40,000 that McChrystal asked for would be sufficient? You're right that we're spread pretty darn thin. Not only is it, as you point out, twice the size of Texas, but the conditions are harsher, the infrastructure largely nonexistant, corruption the worst in the world, and the terrain miserable.Nevertheless, it seems that we at least have a duty to try, rather than abandoning the people to the Taliban. How do you feel about the humanitarian part of the equation?I'm not aware of strategy specifics, and I'd like to know — are they going to focus on cities above a certain population and generally let the other places fend for themselves? focus on certain provinces? etc — do you know if this information exists yet?

Well that was easy.

Ah, young Daniel Blazich. As a service member of some antiquity, I can assure you that all those young cadets are far more versed in the nuances of modern asymmetrical warfare than Obama. Nothing he's telling them in this speech is anything they haven't already deliberated over for quite some time by now. Just because they don't look as enthusiastic about your guy as you'd like them to be, that's no reason to be contemptuous of them. They have, and will continue, to face things more challenging and significant than you will ever understand as a civilian. To sum it up: don't have opinions about things which you shouldn't.