West Point Cadets stand for the national anthem before President Obama's speech announcing an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
So, it has been signed, sealed, delivered – America will be sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Watching President Obama address cadets at West Point as he delivered the news of the troop increase, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow for all the fresh faced kids (yes, kids) in the audience- faces of the U.S.military – soldiers who will soon be deployed. For many of the young soldiers, the deployment abroad may well be their first trip away from home.
They will land, in dusty airfields in countries, in wars they don’t understand and will eventually never win. They will face hostile locals, bombs on the side of the roads, miss their families, their boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers. They will suffer nightmares, some will lose limbs, arms legs blown off in a a heartbeat. Some will die.
But this evening – they sat in the audience. Watching their Commander-in-Chief issue the battle orders. In the next few weeks, some will deploy to Afghanistan – a war they don’t understand, that won’t be won, but nonetheless must be fought.
Read the full transcript of President Obama’s speech here.
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