No Turning Back for Obama on Afghan War

President deliberately left no wiggle room in withdrawal plan for half-trillion-dollar war

President Barack Obama greets members of the military before boarding Air Force One in Coraopolis, Pa. on Friday, June 24, 2011. (Photo credit: Carolyn Kaster / AP)

Analysis by Ben Feller

June 25, 2011

Excerpts

WASHINGTON — We’re getting out.

No more presidential talk of decisions based on conditions on the ground. No benchmarks to measure. No maybes at all.

Determined to pull the United States out of the war in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama deliberately left out any wiggle room in declaring that a methodical withdrawal has begun. His speech to the nation on Wednesday, a turning point in a fight most Americans don’t want, abandoned the caveats that commanders in chief often reserve for a war still being fought.

Why? Because Obama wants Kabul and the American electorate to know there will be no turning back. This combat mission will be over by the end of 2014.

After that, the United States will have forces in Afghanistan for counterterrorism missions and advisory support. Just how many is still to be negotiated with the Afghan government and perhaps the next U.S. president, whether that’s Obama or not. The White House is looking at a number in the range of 5,000 to 20,000, far fewer than the 100,000 U.S. troops there now.

Several factors led Obama to settle on a fast pace for withdrawal and an unequivocal tone.

Mainly, he sees a military mission accomplished, without ever using those words. Yet the political context also has changed significantly. A sovereign Afghanistan has tired of the U.S. presence, the financial toll of the war has become entangled with the U.S. debt debate, and people in the U.S. long for an exit. [links added]

As U.S. troops start coming home in July, with more than 30,000 pulling out by September 2012, Obama’s emphasis has narrowed. Just as he looked homeward when he ended the combat mission in Iraq, Obama is talking less about boosting the Afghan people and more about helping struggling Americans.

“We won’t try to make Afghanistan a perfect place,” the president said in his speech. “We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government.” …

Some political voices still push for a slower withdrawal and warn that Afghanistan could slip back into a haven for terrorism, but they make up a lonely minority.

This decision is done. …

Full story

Video

Cost of Afghan war surpasses $440 billion (MSNBC “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” June 23, 2011) — White House Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough explains how the drawdown will impact the fight against al-Qaida. (05:39)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — June 25, 2010

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — June 25, 2009

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