but events had a way of intervening, especially in the middle east. >> i want to speak to you tonight about our effort in afghanistan. we did not ask for this fight. while we've achieved hard earned milestones in iraq, the situation in afghanistan is deteriorating. and as commander in chief i have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 u.s. troops to afghanistan. >> president obama, again and again, would come back to, okay, if we do what you're proposing, how is it likely to play out? he welcomed dissent and debate and discussion. his belief was that he would make the best decisions if he had been exposed to the greatest array of counterarguments, alternative viewpoints. let's say really difficult backdrop like syria, we had