Tonight, President Barack Obama is giving a speech on his military strategy for Afghanistan. He is expected to call for a 50 percent increase in US troops over the 68,000 already stationed and fighting there. Is it enough? How will the US pay for it? Will additional troops change the tide of the war? And what will a surge mean for the future of that conflict?
Guests:
Howard "Buck" McKeon, Congressman (R-CA), 25th District, Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee
Loretta Sanchez, Congresswoman (D-CA), 47th Congressional district, Garden Grove, House Armed Services Committee
Michael A. Cohen, Senior Research Fellow, American Strategy Program; co-director, Privitization of Foreign Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation. He is also the author of “Live From the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America” (Walker Books: 2008).
Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations