Family Life

10.07.09 | FL News Team

The war in Afghanistan is officially eight years old today. It was on October 7th, 2001 that U.S. and British forces began launching strikes on Kabul in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. President Obama will mark the anniversary by continuing to assess America's role in the increasingly unpopular conflict. He is scheduled to meet with his national security team around 3:30 p.m., Eastern time.

As polls show support for the war in Afghanistan is dwindling, many critics have been asking when the President will decide what path the U.S. military will take in the future. Obama is analyzing an extensive report from General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. McChrystal is expected to seek tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops, despite strong opposition from some key Democrats and members of the administration. Other administration officials have suggested scaling back the number of coalition soldiers in remote tribal areas to focus instead on providing security in Afghan cities. So far, 239 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, making 2009 the deadliest year for American forces in that country since the war began eight years ago.