Afghanistan

Obama: Now or Never

'The situation is increasingly perilous.'

President Obama is doubling down in Afghanistan, declaring the situation there as "increasingly perilous." Formally announcing a plan reported yesterday, the president—with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates—at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building this morning said that the U.S. would boost funding of its mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan by about 60 percent. Also on the way: an additional 4,000 troops plus benchmarks. "We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future," Obama said. "That is the goal that must be achieved." He also warned militants there: "We will defeat you."