Despite Republican pressure to act quickly, President Barack Obama says he won”t rush his decision about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan where 14 Americans died in the deadliest day for U.S. forces in more than four years.
“While I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this — and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm”s way,” Obama said Monday during a visit to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. “I won”t risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Obama spoke on a day when a U.S. military helicopter crashed while returning from the scene of a fire fight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan. Ten Americans, including three Drug Enforcement Administration agents, died in the crash. Four more troops were killed when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan.
It was the heaviest single-day loss of life since June 28, 2005, when 19 U.S. troops died, 16 of them aboard a Special Forces MH-47 Chinook helicopter that was shot down by insurgents.
