Last week President Obama announced a surge of 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan in addition to the 68,000 already there. The President announced the first installment of 16,000 troops this morning. Marines from Fort Lejeune, North Carolina are expected to be the first to deploy later this month and are scheduled to arrive in Iraq by Christmas. This American military presence will supplement the 40,000 NATO troops already in the region and the 7000 more the organization has committed to send next year.

Obama’s decision deviates slightly from the 40,000 troops requested by Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan. Gen. McChrystal and US Ambassador to Iraq Karl Eikenberry are scheduled to testify before Congress this week. In his speech at West Point last week, Obama announced that he has set July 2011 as the beginning of the withdrawal process for American troops in the region. Experts speculate that Congress will question McChrystal and Eikenberry on the likelihood of success for this timeline.

Even before the President’s speech, news of his plans for Afghanistan was leaked to the press with varied response from the American media. Many critics noted how the plan resembled President Bush’s surge in Iraq and the failed first surge in Afghanistan. Gerald Seib, political columnist for The Wall Street Journal, noted how the Obama’s foreign policy is remarkably similar to that of President George H.W. Bush. Similarities include “a preference for pragmatism and stability over idealism and risk; an emphasis on multilateralism over unilateralism; and a willingness to work with leaders the world provides rather than the ones America might prefer.” Seib points out that while Obama is criticized for loquacious rhetoric and overzealous goals in his domestic policy, his goals for Afghanistan are largely grounded in achievable objectives, something George W. Bush never showed in his foreign policy.