The Newark-based People's Organization for Progress (POP) did not wait for President Barack Obama's announcement on December 1 concerning his decision to send or not to send more troops to Afghanistan. On November 28, POP gathered at the intersection of Broad and Market streets in Newark and called the first Black president out.

"One of the purposes of this demo is we want to send a message to President Obama that we don't want a troop increase and we want an end to the war in Afghanistan," stated POP State Chairman Lawrence Hamm.

"A lot of people felt the president would pursue a policy that would lead to a lessening of tensions in Central Asia," Hamm told the AmNews. "Instead, the White House and the Pentagon are increasing tensions with their troop escalations and the continued occupation of Iraq, and the drone planes being sent into Pakistan, which may be killing innocent people."

Another Black organization speaking out through the Internet is the Nubian Life Circle, a Massachusetts-based group that connects Black leadership with global issues. The group sent the AmNews an e-mail saying that Obama was about to follow in the footsteps of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who increased the troop total in Vietnam after President John Kennedy had stated that he was seriously contemplating bringing the military advisors home.

Protests were planned for December 2 on Staten Island and at the recruiting offices at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. The Troops Out Now Coalition, sponsors of the Times Square protest, said the cost of 30,000 new troops in Afghanistan would be $30 billion a year, at $1 million per soldier. The website costofwar.com states that the cost of the war in Afghanistan since 2001 is $228 billion.

The National Priorities Project (NPP), a research organization that clarifies federal data so ordinary people understand how tax dollars are being spent, notes that prior to the 2010 fiscal year, combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have been funded outside of the normal Department of Defense budget system in a process known as "supplemental spending bills," which Obama pledged to end after fiscal year 2009.

According to NPP, the president had requested $130 billion under "overseas contingency operations" – most going to Iraq and Afghanistan. However, according to NPP, 2010 funding is still awaiting approval from Congress and does not include funding for the additional troops, so Obama would most likely return to paying for Afghanistan through the supplemental bills.

Stratfor Global Intelligence Report said the president's announcement is "not only about the number of additional troops." Far more important, it is about "what the mission will be for those troops."

"The geopolitical stakes are high and the resulting impact will have ramifications far beyond the region," stated Stratfor.

Hamm said the ramifications for Americans far outweigh anything that may be stirring in Central Asia. "While the military-industrial complex is getting fatter, Americans need jobs and repair on their roads, sewers and buildings," Hamm stressed.

Dustin Langley, spokesman for Troops Out Now, told the AmNews he agrees with Hamm's assessment. "This is clearly not the time to be spending another $30 to 40 billion on war when we are debating health care reform," he said.

Langley said there is a correlation to the escalation of the war in Afghanistan and the demonizing of Muslims in the United States. "When the state finds itself in the economic situation as we are in today, they find a scapegoat; and that is the Muslim community," Langley said.

Cynthia McKinney, the former Georgia congresswoman and Green Party candidate for president, stated on her website: "We will not stop until every drone is stopped and no more bombs are dropped."

The anti-war group United for Peace and Justice encourages people to call the White House at (202) 456-1111 to register their comments concerning the escalation. The group also suggests that people reach out to groups in their community such as churches, unions and civic groups, and go talk with them about stopping the war in Afghanistan. There is also a suggestion that vigils be held along with non-violent demonstrations and civil-resistance exercises.

On December 12, in Washington, D.C., an anti-escalation rally is scheduled at Lafayette Square, where a coalition of antiwar groups plans to call for massive non-violent/non-cooperation protests across the nation against U.S. war policy.