30,000-troop boost ordered by Obama in Afghanistan

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | 12:01 a.m. CST

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Declaring "our security is at stake," President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan on Tuesday night, but balanced the buildup with a pledge to an impatient nation to begin withdrawing American forces in 18 months.

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