At 7 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2009, President Barack Obama addressed the country on his plan for America’s future in Afghanistan.

He has responded to General McChrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan with a promised insurgency of 30,000 armed forces within the next six months. The idea is to focus on the original problem, establish a democracy, and to drive Karzai (leader of Afghanistan) to end corruption in order to stabilize the government. This is a nation-building project the President feels is necessary for our homeland security. This is being done because many government leaders, namely Obama, believe our “security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

With a more specific plan and drawdown goal of July 2011, I find hope in this.

The reports began in whispers but slowly became public knowledge.

Leaders wanted more troops in Afghanistan in a timely fashion. Better sooner rather than later because Afghanistan was the force behind terror in the past, and America does not want a repeat in the future.

The path to security has been troubling at best, with many setbacks and frustrations, so when I heard 30,000 was the projected number of troops that would be deployed to Afghanistan, I grew wary.

It’s upsetting to see so much fighting and spending with little positive results being shown.

That, coupled with our ever-weakening economy, makes the future of America seem a bit bleak. As our country continues to overstretch our military and financial resources in an effort to stabilize another country, we need to look at home. We need to prop ourselves up and build our own strength before we focus too much attention on another country.

That being said, there seems to be a two-tier approach to this. We must be in Afghanistan to secure our homeland while also carefully cutting out all unnecessary spending in this effort of stabilization.

It is necessary to finish what we have started overseas, but it is high-time to strictly monitor spending in an effort to also secure our economy.

The president’s speech gave me hope in most areas of this.

He set out a timeline that shows our seriousness in this and the urgency of Afghani leaders to understand their responsibility to their citizens and to effectively execute this.

Obama was very clear in saying we were not there to occupy, but to build and to leave when our help was no longer needed. The only clear aspect missing is where the money to fight will come from.

The means of spending needs to be made more transparent before we send more troops in. The American people need to know what they are up against financially.

Full understanding will make this daunting plan a little easier to swallow.

As we face what is hopefully the end of this war, we must have faith in those who are leading us.

This is not always easy, and I have faced much doubt in some aspects of our current administration. The fact the president has laid out a timeline and made the goals clear leaves much less up in the air.

There is a sense of security in knowing there is a plan that is realistic.

Although it will be debated heatedly amongst leaders and parties, it is reassuring to see a strategy is being taken. It is reassuring to see clear-cut goals.

A sense of security has been left in the wake of this speech.