Pocono News Section

Obama to Detail Troop Plans in National Address

Obama to Detail Troop Plans in National Address - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 11:00AM EST

Reported by: Mike Trim
Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009 @ 11:00am EST
Tonight President Barack Obama will announce his strategy for fighting and finishing the war in Afghanistan. The address from West Point is expected to run up to 40 minutes.

The president will lay out a decision - months in the making - to deepen U. S. involvement in the war. Some 30,000 troops are expected to deploy to Afghanistan starting next month.

Lawmakers say the broad post 9/11 goal is unchanged. Representative Tom Price, a Republican from Georgia, said, "The mission is to degrade the ability of al Qaeda to threaten the American people again."

Obama has invited about 30 lawmakers to talk about the war plan this afternoon. Hearings start tomorrow, when the secretaries of State and Defense face questions on strategy and cost.

President Obama's address begins tonight at 8:00, and you can watch in on WBRE.

We wanted to know what you hope to hear from President Obama tonight. Eyewitness News talked with people in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties this morning.

Tonight's presidential address is from West Point addressing a war overseas, but right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, people will be listening closely.

Carol Zick of Kingsley says if President Obama's plan for Afghanistan includes more troops, it should include something else. "I just hope if he's sending more troops over that he's going to support them and send enough equipment and backup for them so they're not getting killed," she said.

More troops are likely. Nearly 34,000 servicemen are expected to deploy to Afghanistan next month.

But some in Susquehanna County are growing tired of this conflict, now in its eighth year. Ordie Price of South Gibson said, "I'm kind of fed up with the whole thing and I'd just as soon see it put to an end. So the sooner they come home the better as far as I'm concerned."

Richard Burdick of South Gibson is looking down the road. He wants to know if more troops will be the final answer. "Until they're ready to govern themselves legitimately and control their own country I don't think we're accomplishing a thing over there really," he said.

Here at Antoinette’s in Carbondale, the early breakfast crowd had similar thoughts. They're hoping to hear a timeline for the troops to return home. Mary Beth Yale of Carbondale said, "I don't think they should send them. They should bring everybody home."

Joann Cawley added, "Take all the boys home, let them fight themselves. That's what I would say."