E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Days before Afghan president Hamid Karzai is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama, senior administration officials said the White House will not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan later than 2014 – when the U.S. combat mission expires.
Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that the administration would consider a "zero option" because "the U.S. does not have an inherent objective of X number of troops in Afghanistan."
President Obama has reportedly received several proposals for residual troop levels beyond 2014, but this was the White House’s most explicit acknowledgement that it would consider leaving no U.S. troops in support roles in Afghanistan after the end of combat operations.
The White House has previously expressed a preference for a light operational footprint. Press secretary Jay Carney said on Nov. 26th that the post-2014 American presence would be “very limited in scope.”
White House South Asia advisor Doug Lute said decisions on troop levels would be determined by the atmosphere on the ground, and how well-equipped Afghans are to defend themselves.
"If the Afghan capacity continues on positive glide path and we reach our goals in terms of the development of the army, the police, then you can imagine they require less support,” he said.
The announcement comes on the heels of a scheduled meeting between President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Karzai’s visit, which will include a bilateral meeting, working lunch and joint press conference, will not end with the pronouncement of a final troop level, although that will be among the issues the two leaders discuss, Rhodes said.
“The two leaders will be discussing any potential support for Afghanistan from the United States beyond 2014,” he said, adding that a bilateral security agreement should be finalized by November 2013.
Leave a Comment:
Next up....Pakistan. Drones, though.
Boys with their toys, don't you know.
Still believing in HOPE & CHANGE? For who?
The president is either an idiot, or wants mid-terms to turn out better using Iraq and Afghanistan as bogus success stories. People here are foolish. You cannot, I repeat cannot leave another vacuum in an area where drugs will support insurgents turned terrorist, with a destablized nuke filled country nearby. The Taliban has already hit a nuke base in Pakistan. Furthermore, as the focus can easily shift back from Mali to Eurasia, terrorists will enjoy a hands-off approach from all governments there. Obama is walking away from responsibility. This is in-keeping with his "drone" approach to all warfare. What is needed is the original 25 yr commitment, security and infrastrucure assured, Karzai gone, and governors working directly with America. Furthermore, we need Iran on board to stablize the west and northern portions, and then we need to hold the area. The south we set up as corridors and continue to hunt down thugs. The same with carpet bombing the Pakistan passes. We remove Pakistan as the lead, and push for rhetoric and results with Tehran. Saudis take the hint and change the efforts that are happening via their madrassas in Waziristan, Peshawar and elsewhere. We squeeze Kandahar and Farah, and simultaneously change Iran in the process. Iranians are waiting. We need to lead, not leave. I am so sorry Obama won. He is a numbers man. And numbers don't mean anything, unless geo-politics, markets and futures are taken into account. Obama makes Bush look competent. He is a complete embarrassment to the station. And his appointees have only exacerbated the problem while hiding the truth.
Moreover, whomever controls Eurasia controls so much more. Zbigniew Brzezinski. We are spoiled. If things don't go our way, we take our toys and leave. It is America's number one issue and why we have no respect. Start adding up the short term costs and compare that with long term losses. Wait until these regions dictate prices elsewhere. Your 600 million will pale in comparison.
For what reason did we expand the air base at Bagram then? And at Kandahar? That too is irresponsible. So we keep bases for years in germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and BFE, but in a war zone where actual security forces are needed, we walk. Good job Mr Pres. Military minds should speak up. Your future is at risk, as is ours.
The ravings of a sore loser. Dude the election is over. How would Romney handle it?
With a moniker like Warprofiteer, what would you expect, Cycle?
All we are doing by letting these foreigners come here is breeding corruption. They come here see how we live then go home and figure out a way to get the hell out of their country with as much money as possible. If not them their future children will be coming here with the countries coffers. We shouldn't be letting them see what they can not achieve.
WHY??? do we need another 23 months, what exactly is going to be accomplished, if we have not done what we needed to do in 11 years what is another two years going to do, and to make matters worse the 1 guy the U.S. government was in theory trying to extinguish wasn't even in Afghanistan, he was across the border in Pakistan, another uncivilized cesspool and their government (who are supposed to be buddies with the U.S.) was covering for him the U.S. managed to track him down and kill him and yet two years later U.S. soldiers are still being killed in Afghanistan, the Afghan government has told the U.S. are presence is no longer acceptable, U.S. citizens have demanded that this U.S. government that does as it damned well pleases, they don't listen to foreign governments, they don't listen to the citizens they were in theory elected to represent, this government has taken on it's own presence apart from the general public in the U.S. IT IS WAY PAST TIME TO GET OUT OF THOSE DUMPS,NOW!!!
Speed it up and leave as soon as the Spring thaw arrives. The element of surprise is most effective.
We could give a crap less about karzai or obama. What we want to know is why when we were told that our taxes would not go up that everyone's went up a minimum 2%. Is obama that much out of touch with how the tax system works? Starting to believe that Geitner did not cheat on his taxes, he doesn't understand them just like the millions of Amercan taxpayers. When you have to hire a third party to do you taxes then they are too complicated.
All U.S. is good at is war. Why would we stop. Only outsourcing we should have. Guess we showed them all they need to know. Bet they respect us now. Were done.
What happened to pulling all of our troops out by 2014?
What has been the right wing reaction to this?
They want the troops in the middle east to stay in order to fulfill the biblical prophecy of fighting the "End of World" war, and await the "Spiritual Judgment" and that both the physical Rapture and the end of the world war would gain them access to the Kingdom of God. Other than that it helps their stock portfolio to increase.
There is no reason for US to be there now. The US has got to stop trying to be the world's policeman. It is just the Military Industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about after WWII trying to promote itself. The GOP has been bought by this complex and they want to spend fortunes on wars while eliminating social programs. The right-wing-nuts use the terms 'socialists' or 'communists' to define those that want to reduce military spending. It's a battle that the US is fighting internally now and has been since WWII.
About 95% of Americans want full withdrawal immediately. Afghanistan will always be a haven for the murderers that hide there. Death is what they worship and any man, woman, or child that gets in the way of their desire to live in the 7th century will be killed. The entire region would have to be depopulated to change their way of life. Cut all so called aid. They only use it to buy more equipment to continue their insanity. Bring our troops and all other assets home and let the drones cull the ones we feel we need to.
Could we "Bin Laden" Karzai on the way out??
What would be the point? Anyone who stepped into that position would be as, if not more, corrupt than Karzai. We just need to get the hell out of there.
that will never happen if we leave in 2014. we will be going back in 2015. we went there and made changes that most of them did not want. and as soon as we leave they will go back to killing eachother because that is what they do. in order to change the world. we must first change ourselves.
The public was sold on the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq based on the fact that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that the wars would last 90 to 120 days, that we would get the oil to pay for the wars from Iraq and therefore it was not necessary to raise taxes. None of that turned out to be correct. No one has ever successfully invaded and occupied Afghanistan and now we know why. We need to go. We can still do what we should have done in the first place and take out the bad guys one by one. They choose to live as they do and have for hundreds of years.
Thank God! anyone who has read my blogs knows I am a die hard Conservative, but Damn if President Obama is not starting to grow on me- abet slowly - ha Good decision Mr. President, no more American Blood and money there.
What would be the pont of losing lives until 2014?
Just logistically it would take almost to 2014 to get everyone out, even if you started today, unless you want to just abandon everything. I think obama should make it clear what the plan is, and just start..as long as we are truly pulling out, I don't mind a reasonable schedule.
"Just logistically it would take almost to 2014 to get everyone out, even if you started today, unless you want to just abandon everything."
You and your logic, Vermont. You should know that has no place on this vine ;) It is a good reminder, though, even if the reality of it sucks. I think we should've started packing up after we got Bin Laden, but that's just me.
before we leave fire bomb their poppy fields then spray them with agent orange so they cannot replant for a decade or so.
Please please please bring them all home. Would love to see Graham, McCain, and the rest of the warmonger pols and neonuts swallow their tongues on live TV. Maybe it would cause Mccain to lose the few IQ points he has left and gracefully retire, which he should have done when he got his dumb ass whipped in 08.
"If the Afghan capacity continues on positive glide path and we reach our goals in terms of the development of the army, the police, then you can imagine they require less support,” he said.
call me crazy..but this seems backwards.... the more prepared they are...the more troops we should leave behind as positive reinforcement for getting their act together. the less prepared they are... the more US troops will be in danger.... hence being less prepared should result in them not receiving as much support.
just sayin....
I had no problem with us invading Iraq & Afghanistan, but there comes time to say enough is enough. We've given them 10 + years to try & figure out how to have a stable viable country. But if they CANNOT figure that out, then it's time for us to leave. We cannot continue to try & make a country where one seems not to want to exist. What happens after we leave is up to them.
I don't believe this for a minute. Obama promised when he ran the first time that we would be out in 1 years time. Funny how this news reporting media always just pushes that promise under the rug.
I didn't believe him then and I don't believe him now. Nothing but more smoke and mirrors to make it look like he really wants an end to this war that should have ended the day he took office the term.
Another 2 years of killing our sons and daughters for people who hate us, will never change, and don't want to change. All they want is our money which is making the tribal leaders rich.
Why not NOW?
Too many lives, ours and Afghani, have been lost/catstrophically altered because of lies told by gov'ts looking to secure profits for corporations.
Does anyone really believe that OBL was the reason we went into Afghanistan? That OBL was alive after 11/01 despite NEVER again being photographed?
Wake up people. The War on Terror was a corporate profit driven action.
Too many sons and daughters have been sacrificed for the few to prosper.
Who started what why when is immaterial! We should accept that if colonisation empires,without morals couldn't win in Asia ,then how can countries that claim to have some restraints can. Leave now We have ,as the British and Russians have,Lost.