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Great Falls Reacts to Obama's Troop Increase

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Dec 2, 2009 at 6:24 PM MST

Story Updated: Dec 2, 2009 at 6:24 PM MST

During last night's address from West Point, the President told the country he's sending 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan. He says the additional troops are needed to bring the war to "a successful conclusion."

And some of those troops will no doubt be from here in Montana.
Officials with the Montana Army National Guard said nearly 140 soldiers are scheduled to deploy in January. That includes eight people in a public affairs detail and about 130 in an engineering group.

About 750 other soldiers with Montana's 163rd battalion are on alert, which means they are preparing for a possible deployment, but they have not yet received a mobilization notice.

Reaction from people on the street has been mixed.

Says Great Falls resident Ed Klein, "I hope that by adding more troops to Afghanistan that he doesn't get us more involved, to where we're just going to be embroiled in this thing forever."

Daniel Cadigan felt differently, "I think that he's doing the best he can, and I trust that he's making the right decision and I trust that it's going to work out alright."

However, a local former Obama campaigner expressed great disapproval of the decision. "I was profoundly disappointed,” she said, “I think what we're seeing is a re-run of the Vietnam War. I believed in the change that Mr. Obama talked about when he came to Great Falls. I worked on his campaign. I'm looking for the change that we can believe in, and I don't see this as a positive thing for the people of America."

The good news for the Holidays around here - nearly 165 soldiers from the Havre area are due to return to the States right before Christmas.

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Wayne Ward said on Thursday, Dec 3 at 8:20 AM

Why should the Obama campaigner be surprised? Which political party does she think started the Vietnam war?

EndTheBattle said on Thursday, Dec 3 at 7:47 AM

He is falling right into the republicans hands. He was going to make a change. This is not change, it's just sendding more of our children out to die in a war that is un winnable. Sad, so sad.

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