1. How many troops has President Obama announced he will send to Afghanistan?  When did he say troops will begin withdrawing from Afghanistan?

2. How have British military officers contradicted the President's timeline?

3. a) Who is General Sir David Richards?
b) What did Gen. Richards say about President Obama's troop withdrawal date?

4. a) Who is Gen. Sir J. Stirrup?
b) What point did Gen. Stirrup stress about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan?

5. a) What did Gen. Stirrup say about his support for British Army head Gen. Dannatt?
b) What did Lt.-Gen. Lambs say about the Taliban?
c) What do you think of comments made by these British officers? - is this unnecessary tough talk? is this the way commanders should talk?

6. With the additional troops President Obama has just authorized, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be almost 100,000.
There are 50,000 NATO troops stationed in the country (10,000 of this number are British troops) (per cnn.com)
What do you think about the contradictory timetables for troop withdrawal between President Obama and the British commanders?