In announcing his 18-month escalation strategy for Afghanistan, President Obama underscored his view that “Islamist extremism in the region remains an enduring threat to the security of Americans.” Obama revealed, “In the last few months alone, we have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) offered a cautious response to President Obama’s speech last night, saying in a statement that “Congress will now have an opportunity to fully examine this strategy.” Offering no explicit praise for Obama’s proposal, Pelosi noted that “President Obama inherited a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan because the Bush Administration did not have a plan to get the job done.”
In a written statement, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged “all our allies to unite behind President Obama’s strategy.” “Britain will continue to play its full part in persuading other countries to offer troops to the Afghanistan campaign,” said Brown. “A vital next stage is the London conference on Afghanistan on 28 January, to which all 43 coalition nations will be invited.”
Democrats are “divided” on how to fund the new Afghanistan strategy, which will cost at least $30 billion more. “Key leaders rejected a proposal from liberal members to impose a ‘war tax,’” but “they offered no plan of their own.”
