Obama: I'll 'Finish the Job' in Afghanistan

President's troop decision expected this week
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 24, 2009 2:55 PM CST
Obama: I'll 'Finish the Job' in Afghanistan
President Obama speaks during a meeting with members of his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House Monday.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

He didn't tip his hand on many troops it would take, but President Obama said today that he intends to "finish the job" in Afghanistan. He promised to unveil a strategy after Thanksgiving that will "dismantle and degrade” the enemy while making sure that "al Qaeda and its extremist allies cannot operate," reports the New York Times. Two news outlets, CNN and McClatchy, say the president has settled on sending 34,000 troops.

"I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there, and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive," said the president, who seemed to criticize the Bush administration's handling of the war. "After eight years, some of those years in which we did not have, I think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done, it is my intention to finish the job." (More President Obama stories.)

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