Quote of the Day

"As General Petraeus mentioned, one year ago I ordered additional troops to serve in this country that was the staging ground for the 9/11 attacks. All of those troops are now in place. And thanks to your service, we are making important progress. You are protecting your country. You're achieving your objectives. You will succeed in your mission. (Hooah!)

We said we were going to break the Taliban's momentum, and that's what you're doing. You're going on the offense, tired of playing defense, targeting their leaders, pushing them out of their strongholds. Today we can be proud that there are fewer areas under Taliban control and more Afghans have a chance to build a more hopeful future.

We said a year ago that we're going to build the capacity of the Afghan people. And that's what you're doing, meeting our recruitment targets, training Afghan forces, partnering with those Afghans who want to build a stronger and more stable and more prosperous Afghanistan."

- U.S. President Barack Obama, plowing through the bad news during a three hour stopover in Afghanistan. The above paragraphs are his only direct reference to the war's strategy. Ben Rhodes, a White House national security aide, also told reporters that Obama will address the war on December 13th.

"I wouldn't anticipate a major speech," Rhodes explained - and no major changes are expected.