Monday
Nov302009
30,000 More Troops To Afghanistan Is A Step In The Right Direction
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 2:46PM
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
In a phone interview with Talk Radio News Service on Monday, Army Reserve Major Rose Lopez-Keravuori, a West Point graduate, called President Barack Obama’s likely decision to send up to 35,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan a "step in the right direction," and referred to West Point as a "very interesting location" from which to make the announcement.
“The fact that he’s going to send 30,000 troops is definitely a step in the right direction in trying to bring the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan back into the forefront of this," said Lopez-Keravuori.
Obama is scheduled to make the announcement at 8 pm Tuesday.
Lopez-Keravuori, who was in Iraq during the “Iraqi Awakening Movement,” otherwise known as the Iraqi troop surge, said the upcoming U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan may produce similar results as the 2007 troop surge in Iraq.
“We need to surge first, in providing a secure environment,” she said. “Another aspect is making sure the Afghan army and security forces surge as well, following military guidance.”
Lopez-Keravuori said she commends General Stanley McChrystal and supports his long-term goal of securing the region along with gaining support from India and Pakistan.
“General McChrsytal’s assessment is definitely on the mark when it comes to the Afghanistan portion of it,” she said.
In a phone interview with Talk Radio News Service on Monday, Army Reserve Major Rose Lopez-Keravuori, a West Point graduate, called President Barack Obama’s likely decision to send up to 35,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan a "step in the right direction," and referred to West Point as a "very interesting location" from which to make the announcement.
“The fact that he’s going to send 30,000 troops is definitely a step in the right direction in trying to bring the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan back into the forefront of this," said Lopez-Keravuori.
Obama is scheduled to make the announcement at 8 pm Tuesday.
Lopez-Keravuori, who was in Iraq during the “Iraqi Awakening Movement,” otherwise known as the Iraqi troop surge, said the upcoming U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan may produce similar results as the 2007 troop surge in Iraq.
“We need to surge first, in providing a secure environment,” she said. “Another aspect is making sure the Afghan army and security forces surge as well, following military guidance.”
Lopez-Keravuori said she commends General Stanley McChrystal and supports his long-term goal of securing the region along with gaining support from India and Pakistan.
“General McChrsytal’s assessment is definitely on the mark when it comes to the Afghanistan portion of it,” she said.
Kerry Backs McChrystal, Urges Washington To 'Back Off'
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) said he spoke with General Stanley A. McChrystal, Commander of International and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, this morning about comments McChrystal made in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. McChrystal spoke critically of the Obama administration regarding how it is handling the war in Afghanistan.
"I emphasized to him that...those are comments that he's going to have to deal with," Kerry said. "I have enormous respect for General McChrystal and I think he's a terrific soldier."
Kerry said that it would be best not to fixate on this issue, and emphasized the remaining presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
"All of us would be best served by backing off, staying cool and calm and, you know, not succumbing to the normal Washington twitter about this for the next 24 hours."