Five Things The President Will Say Tonight About Afghanistan

"The goals of the U.S. Afghan campaign remain unchanged: Prevent a Taliban overthrow of Afghan government, and prevent safe haven for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan."
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The 9/11 attacks were planned by Saudis in Germany. Al Qaeda doesn't need a "safe haven" in Afghanistan. Besides, they have one next door in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
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I should also point out that the Taliban are mostly Afghans. Do you think that we should invite in someone's army to make sure that Republicans don't "overthrow" our government any time soon? Come to think of it...

Thanks for a succinct and useful summary.
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Alas, policy bullet (3) is a guarantee of endless war. Rather than defining an exit strategy, Obama is promising that we will not exit until we can prove two negatives: Al Qaeda no longer exists (since as long as it exists at all, it can conceivably find a safe haven once we leave), and the Taliban no longer exists (since as long as it exists, once we leave it will find enough sympathizers to recoup and pose an eventual realistic takeover threat.)
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It is impossible to prove a negative. It will therefore prove impossible for Obama to leave Afghanistan, at least until he concocts a more forgiving exit condition than this one.
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I feel great sympathy for the quandary imposed on Obama by his predecessor, but, in the classical words of Han Solo, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Malalai Joya:

"Like many around the world, I am wondering what kind of 'peace' prize can be awarded to a leader who continues the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and starts a new war in Pakistan, all while supporting Israel?"

Orwell man, Orwell

Some other things you can expect him to say are: I,I,I.Me,ME,ME Letmebeperfectlyclear. uh, uh, uh....pokiston, tolibon.

Words least likely to be spoken are: War on terror, terrorists, and victory.

senior administration [official] calls the addition of new troops a "surge."
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according to Obama aides. One senior administration official claimed that"
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Who told you these things, goddammit? What possible reason could there be to keep these people anonymous?

Prevent a Taliban overthrow of Afghan government, and prevent safe haven for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
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How does this square with reports that the Taliban has a permanent presence in 80% of Afghanistan?

Did he forget to mention the gas pipelines?

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/the-gas-must-flow/

Yes, he said that. And a lot more. It is not open ended, it is not Viet Nam, time has been wasted by the fascists Bushy neocons, we do not seek to dominate the world (unlike the Bushies), and he spoke reason (unlike the Bushies). It was a brilliant speech far beyond the sterile MS prognostication. I am opposed to the Afghan continuation, but he gave me pause for thought and reflection (again, unlike the Bushies).

After an equivalent length of time, the Soviets were mostly back over the Friendship Bridge and their withdrawal was almost complete.

The US continues to pour in troops, however.

While it is harder for democracies to get into wars (at least until Bush), it is also harder to get out of them. Too many special interests at work.