President Obama Outlined the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan

4 December 2009

President Barack Obama

On December 1, 2009, during a public address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, President Barack Obama announced significant additional military and civilian resources for Afghanistan and significant additional civilian resources for Pakistan.  “I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan,” the President said. “I do not make this decision lightly. I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 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. This is no idle danger; no hypothetical threat.

“Of course, this burden is not ours alone to bear. This is not just America’s war. Since 9/11, al Qaeda’s safe-havens have been the source of attacks against London and Amman and Bali. The people and governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are endangered. Because this is an international effort, I have asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies. Some have already provided additional troops, and we are confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead. Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. Now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what’s at stake is not simply a test of NATO’s credibility – what’s at stake is the security of our Allies, and the common security of the world.” 

• The Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan (PDF 81kb) – remarks by President Barack Obama
• The White House Factsheet: The Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Video: Watch the Remarks at West Point 
• What I Heard Last Night by National Security Advisor General Jim Jones