president obama outlines his plans for an immediate troop surge. good evening, i m jim vance. the surge will begin almost immediately with a very big price tag. the president says he s not writing a blank check. steve handelsman is at west point at the military academy. reporter: he came to west point to speak to soldiers. before they graduate, the surge will be winding down. i have determined, it s in our vital, national interest to send 30,000 troops to afghanistan. after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. the fastest possible pace so they can target the insurgency and secure population centers. reporter: the new strategy, focus on the city, train forces. he says we have no choice. our goal remains the same, to disrupt, dismantle and defeat in pakistan and prevent the capacity to hurm america and allies. reporter: on queue. god bless you and god bless america. reporter: there s an issue with the timetable. the start of a pullout in 2011. he s