"There are those who suggest that Afghanistan is another Vietnam. They argue that it cannot be stabilized, and we are better off cutting our losses and rapidly withdrawing. Yet this argument depends upon a false reading of history," Obama said while announcing his new Af-Pak policy at the West Point Military Academy in New York.
"Unlike Vietnam, we are joined by a broad coalition of 43 nations that recognizes the legitimacy of our action. Unlike Vietnam, we are not facing a broad-based popular insurgency.
"Most importantly, unlike Vietnam, the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target for those same extremists who are plotting along its border," the President said.
He said that abandoning this area now and to rely only on efforts against al Qaeda from a distance would significantly hamper the US ability to keep the pressure on al Qaeda, "and create an unacceptable risk of additional attacks on our homeland and our allies."
Obama said that the US cannot leave Afghanistan in its current state, but suggest that the US go forward with the troops that it has.
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