It took three months of mulling, meetings and deliberations with his own Congressional and military leaders, as well as European and NATO officials, but US President Barack Obama’s compromise to send 30,000 more troops into the unpopular war in Afghanistan seemed alienate everyone, including some Democratic leaders in his own party, except his hard-core believers and political and ideological backers – mostly in the EU - including an announcement most US soldiers would be withdrawn in July, 2001. Obama‘s strategy seeks to delicately balance the need to prevail in Afghanistan while accommodating the growing skepticism in the United States over the prospects for success, with polls showing Americans increasingly opposed to the war.

NATO: A gutsy call
“President Obama’s decision to substantially increase the numbers of US forces in the NATO-led operation is proof of his resolve; the overall approach he laid out is a broader political strategy for success”  - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Comforting the enemy
“Dates for withdrawal are dictated by conditions. The way that you win wars is to break the enemy’s will, not to announce dates that you are leaving … It may convey the impression that we are going to be there for a short period of time, and the Taliban just have to wait us out” – Republican US Senator John McCain, Obama’s opponent in the 2008 Presidential election.
“The one thing that you never do is telegraph your punch … He is telling our enemies exactly what we’re going to do and it’s just wrong. Every military officer I’ve ever met will tell you the same thing” - US Rep. Dan Burton, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia

Some Republican backing
The strategy will  “allow our troops to return on success and put Afghanistan on the road to stability  …. (but) we need a success strategy, not an exit strategy. When it comes to troops movements in Afghanistan, the president should listen to the military commanders on the ground, not arm-chair generals in Washington” -US Sen. Kit Bond, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee
“Although this decision took far too long and it should not have, I am glad the president will finally provide General McChrystal with the troops he needs … however ...sending mixed signals by outlining the exit before these troops even get on the ground undermines their ability to succeed” - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele

Nordic endorsement
“It was a very brave speech… That shows how important Obama views this mission” - Danish Defence Minister Soren Gade, who said his country would not deploy more troops
“An equally important part of the strategy is boosting civilian efforts” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt

EU views
“The EU welcomes the announcement by President Barack Obama that the US will further reinforce its engagement ... as part of its continued commitment to Afghanistan ... The EU stands ready to work closely with the US … a positive development will require a combination of political, military and civilian/development instruments ... The EU particularly emphasizes the need for capacity building in Afghanistan”  - EU’s official statement
“This is a sign President Obama has faith in the international mission in Afghanistan” – Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. The Netherlands has some 1,880 troops stationed in Afghanistan
“I call on all our allies to unite behind President Obama’s strategy. Britain will continue to play its full part in persuading other countries to offer troops to the Afghanistan campaign” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
“Our position, that a withdrawal plan must come within sight before the end of this legislative period (2013), has been strengthened by (Obama‘s) speech” – German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who said no commitment on sending more troops would be made until a January 28, 2010 conference in London

Taking flak
“Those folks ... begin to look for ways to accommodate their enemies … They’re worried the United States isn’t going to be there much longer, and the bad guys are”- Former US vice president Dick Cheney
“I certainly continue - and I think my colleagues continue - to question the wisdom of sending in tens of thousands of more troops into Afghanistan” – US Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a Democrat
 “If our fight is truly with al-Qaeda, then we’re in the wrong country. They have moved to Pakistan. I’ve seen this movie before, and it doesn’t have a happy ending” -US Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts
“You will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics,” – US documentary film maker Michael Moore, who supported Obama’s candidacy and now calls him the new “War President”
“More troops will mean more targets for the Taliban and the troops are bound to fight, and fighting certainly will cause civilian casualties” Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, a former Afghan prime minister, told Reuters
“It is also a bold gamble in terms of American domestic politics. His own party is increasingly divided over this war. His liberal, Democratic base is increasingly tired of it and his own party is haunted by the ghost of Vietnam right now … wars tend to consume presidencies and this is now Obama’s war” - Former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel 
 (See related story, page 11)