By Madhuri Dey
Washington, Dec. 02, (THAINDIAN NEWS) US President Barack Obama held a conference at the West Point Military Academy on Tuesday, Dec. 01. He spoke at length on the necessity to send additional troops to Afghanistan, a decision that sent sighs of relief throughout the country. His speech signaled the possible end of the bloody war that the country has been waging in Afghanistan for the last eight years, considering that the President announced the repatriation of the troops within the next one and a half years. The policy Obama underlined in his speech is definitely going to affect the impact that he will make in history.

The speech is most likely to face a lot of controversy, keeping in mind the the President spoke of both sending extra troops and bringing home the soldiers in the war. However, the loophole that he carefully inserts into his speech can be seen if one reads between the lines. The troops will definitely be brought back, by July 2011, he said, but it would be done keeping in mind the “conditions on the ground.” In the end, the repatriation probably all boils down to the same excuse that Bush had been giving: interest in the greater good of the Afghans.

President Obama’s choice of the venue has to be lauded. West Point is the oldest and most respected military academy in the country. On the other side, the noble intentions were not that well received in all quarters. Even as the president delivered his diatribe, anti- war protesters marched outside the building, chanting, “How many lives per gallon?”, a reaction against the decision of the reinforcement of 30,000 soldiers.