defense, Obama & Karzai

US President Obama & Afghan President Karzai

President Obama has directed the Pentagon to come up with a plan for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the end of this year, despite the ongoing challenges to secure a security pact.

Currently, the president is discussing with Afghan President Hamid Karzai a Bilateral Security Agreement but leaving open the possibility some troops would remain after 2014; contingent upon Karzai signing the agreement.  At this point this seems unlikely due to past comments by the Afghan president.

In a press statement released today by the White House, with regard to the Bilateral Security Agreement, in advance of the NATO Defense Ministerial, President Obama told President Karzai that because he has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the BSA, the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning. Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year, should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

The Obama administration would like to maintain some kind of troop presence in the country.   This coming on the heels of al-Qaeda supporters who exploited the vacuum left by the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, and not wanting to replicate the situation in Afghanistan. 

“Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014,” the White House said. “At the same time, should we have [a Bilateral Security Agreement] and a willing and committed partner in the Afghan government, a limited post-2014 mission focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces and going after the remnants of core Al Qaeda could be in the interests of the United States and Afghanistan.”   

House Armed Service Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., a vocal critic of the president expressed outrage at the Obama’s approach to Afghanistan.

“The president has talked about Afghanistan only a handful of times during his presidency,” McKeon said. “And each time, President Obama has praised his run for the exits or pitied our wounded instead of lauding the accomplishments of our troops and the importance of the mission that they were given to fight.”

A senior Pakistani official expressed deep reservations about what kind of situation would be left in a precipitous American withdrawal, and foresees Afghanistan descending into chaos.   

This is an emotional issue for many in the U.S. and before any decision is made about troop withdrawals from Afghanistan it cannot be made in a vacuum.  We cannot and should not refight how we got into this situation, when both political parties supported U.S. military action in Afghanistan, including many in the president’s foreign policy inter-circle.  

A comprehensive, strategic outlook is long overdue with regard to how the U.S. proceeds in Afghanistan and the broader region.  With the U.S. involved in other regions of the world we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past and neglect Afghanistan and Pakistan to the foreign policy backwater.  We do so at our peril!

No one is contemplating leaving a continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, but a short sided impulsive withdrawal by the U.S. for political reasons would be a disaster for Afghanistan and the region.

Currently, Pakistan views our withdrawal as abandoning them and realigning U.S. strategic interests toward India.

The U.S. has viable geo-strategic political and economic interests in the Central Asian region, and that is why a comprehensive strategic vision is need.  Politics cannot be the driving force; President Obama needs to re-engage and articulate U.S. strategy and not resort to rhetorical political rhetoric.  The U.S. needs to think strategically not tactically.

One only has to remember the last time we left Afghanistan; history has a strange way of repeating itself!       
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