The White House: In part President Obama stated the following in the live statement, " At the beginning of 2015, we will have approximately 9,800 U.S. servicemembers in different parts of the country, together with our NATO allies and other partners. By the end of 2015, we will have reduced that presence by roughly half, and we will have consolidated our troops in Kabul and on Bagram Airfield. One year later, by the end of 2016, our military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in Kabul, with a security assistance component, just as we’ve done in Iraq. "
Lets Get Real:
President Obama wants to finish Afghanistan before he ends his 2nd term, he wants to say HE finished the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the problem with this arrogant view is that the Taliban and Al Qaeda might have something to say about this subject. Lets recall that image of the final helicopter out of South Vietnam in 1975, the Taliban want that image, does the Administration not think that the Taliban and Al Qaeda will use the reduce US presence as a chance to take more control of Afghanistan, also it can be expected that those Western troops that remain in Afghanistan will become target practice for the opposition, as noted in previous post the British left a force in Afghanistan in the 19th Century and it was a disaster, thousands were killed on the retreat, this will not happen in 2014 or after, but it can be argued that the Taliban and its terrorist allies will increase the terrorist attacks in Kabul, and Afghanistan will go down the same road as Iraq, it will return as a base for Al Qaeda, thus leaving the problems for the next President. Obama Presidency is about rhetoric, not the real world, the problem is that Obama has long lost the ability to see the difference.
