President Obama announced plans for a surge in Afghanistan on Dec. 1, saying he would add 30,000 troops to the country within six months to fight the Taliban and threats from Al Qaeda in Pakistan. But, he said, the United States would start bringing American troops home by the middle of 2011.

The New York Times has a must-read, lengthy explanation of how the Obama administration decided on the strategy. It's daunting, but definitely worth a read.

Obama's announcement left many conservatives concerned that by advocating both a surge and a withdrawal date, Obama was not giving the troops enough time to do its job. Liberals, on the other hand, said the surge was not a good use of American resources, both in money and personnel.

So what can 30,000 additional troops do in just 18 months? Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believes the time can be used to disrupt the Taliban enough that it will be easier for Afghan security forces to contain them when the American leaves

My Opion:

wWhat i think about politics is that citizens dont know enough about them. i didnt hear about this decision made by the president till yesterday. my grandmother said this decision was released almost a week ago to the public

6 months isnt enought time for soliders to train. soliders are risking their lives for the country so why wouldnt they have enoguh time to prepare them selfs for war.my honest opion is that 6 months isnt even enough time for me to train, so i could imagine how others feel.

After all maybe its a good idea, maybe its not. Besides in the next six months soliders must train and prepare to fight in the war. I also Agree that 18 months isnt enough time for troops to do their job. Another good thing is atleast the troops wont stay in taliban for so long, they;ll be back by 2011 which is a good thing.