CNN Correspondent Atia Abawi

Nearly eight years in and the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating drastically.  And it seems that President Barack Obama agrees, laying out a new strategy and focus on the war and the region.  But to the Afghan people these are just more promises after seven years of broken promises.   
 
Afghans have lived through three decades of war, for many that is all they know.  It is about survival in a land of destruction.  Many joining the ranks of insurgent groups just so they can put food on the table.  And these are some of the people that Obama would like to reach out to.
 
"There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be met with force, and they must be defeated," Obama said, "But there are also those who have taken up arms because of coercion, or simply for a price. These Afghans must have the option to choose a different course."
 
President Obama is also calling for a larger civilian force to help rebuild the country.  This is a necessity in a nation where time seems to have stopped in 1979 during the starts of the Soviet invasion.  The country is currently rife with corruption that seems to stem from the highest levels of their government.  
 
"We need agricultural specialists and educators; engineers and lawyers. That is how we can help the Afghan government serve its people, and develop an economy that isn't dominated by illicit drugs," Obama outlined.
 
And a key factor will be to train the Afghan Forces, Obama promising 4,000 military trainees on top of the 17,000 combat troops he had already approved earlier in the year.
 
The Afghan National Army (ANA) has been a seeming success story in Afghanistan, slowly gaining support from the Afghan people. But the Afghan National Police (ANP) a failure in the eyes of the people.  Some Afghans are forced to turn to the Taliban for protection because threats they receive from the police and corrupt government officials.  
 
But the seeming success story of the ANA hitting a sour point just hours before President Obama's televised address.  A soldier from the Afghan National Army shot at four coalition service members in Northern Afghanistan, killing two.  
 
If this is considered one of the successes, today's incident proves there is a long way to go to stabilize Afghanistan.

Posted by: Atia Abawi, Correspondent
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