New Yorkers say that sending more troops to Afghanistan will bring crisis to the country, that staying longer in a place where there is no clear direction and where there haven't been any positive results is counterproductive to healing the nation and, not to mention, their belief that the mentality in the Middle East will never change.

At a press conference, President Barack Obama announced that 30,000 more soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan and, simultaneously, that he will try to convince Congress to increase the budget.

"Because we should fulfill our goals, and the present time calls for such action," he said.

The announcement provoked reactions from all sectors of society.

Roberto Macias, an Ecuadorian, was very emphatic when expressing his opinion. "The numbers are obvious: the unemployment rate is high, violence has also increased, and this war costs the country a lot of money. Obama's decision confirms that America will be in Afghanistan, where people are taught to use weapons from the time they are children, a lot longer. These are countries where over generations and throughout history people are prepared for confrontation. Muslims prefer to die before surrendering. I'm asking what has America achieved in the time it has spent in Afghanistan? Only the deaths of our soldiers and taxes that soar through the clouds."

While he was getting ready to travel to his job on Staten Island, Macias added that, "From the most humble worker to the highest-ranking executive, we are the ones who pay for this war. Hopefully, the president has made a smart move and our soldiers will return home to their bases and spend Christmas with their families."

Martha Cabrera said that the customer base has declined at the restaurant where she has worked for 12 years. "Before, we only served lunch until 2 in the afternoon. Now a customer can come in until 5 p.m. and the restaurant still won't be filled up – not because it's expensive, but because people are out of work. I have two kids and I don't want them to join the army; I support them so that they can finish their studies. I can only imagine the pain and the worry that parents of soldiers must suffer, not knowing the fate of their children; but these soldiers are defending everyone, for freedom and world peace. I support President Obama, even though I don't agree with his decision to continue a war that has produced no results."

Italo Ibarra, a student in the East Village, said: "We don't know what we will do if the war goes on like this; we also have soldiers deployed in Iraq. Unfortunately, our country was hit hard: first the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then the investors left and the economy went sour; now, there isn't any work and living keeps getting more expensive. The image of our country as one with a surplus of available work which attracted everyone to come here has vanished. Now people work to merely pay the rent and to more or less eat, but saving is a forbidden word. I've been here for five years and the only thing we have left is faith in God, faith that He will guide our leaders and that, like the phoenix, we will all rise again and continue to be the most powerful country on the planet."

Manuel Molina, a resident of Brooklyn, said that his two sons are in the army and started fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan some years ago. Although pain overwhelms his soul, the family supports its sons because "they are fighting for our freedom; besides, nobody forced them to join the army. It's also in their blood. I too was in the marines back in my country, in Ecuador."