Obama’s Afghan Troop Drawdown Plan from the CFR

Obama’s Afghan Troop Drawdown Plan

President Barack Obama is expected to travel today to Fort Drum, NY, to rally support for his plan to withdraw thirty-three thousand troops (CNN) from Afghanistan. In a televised speech last night, Obama said ten thousand of the surge forces would withdraw by the end of the year, with the remainder leaving Afghanistan by 2012--about one-third of the one hundred thousand U.S. troops in the country. "It's time to start nation-building here at home," Obama said. The speech predictably drew a mixed response in Washington, with outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) supporting the decision, while prominent Republican critics, in particular House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) are more skeptical.

In Afghanistan, political leaders expressed fears (WSJ) that U.S. allies could leave before their job is done. While the troop withdrawal is not expected to change much in Afghanistan right now, U.S. and Afghan officials worry about the overall impact (NYT) on Afghanistan's struggling economy. And with Gates's recent acknowledgement of "outreach" talks with members of the Taliban, some Afghans are worried about a new Taliban takeover (Guardian) when the United States leaves.

Analysis

A constraint on America's retreat from Afghanistan "is the recognition that, more than ever, the United States will be relying on Afghanistan's help to deal with the threats emerging from Pakistan," writes David Sanger in the New York Times.

This CFR timeline of the war in Afghanistan examines the events that led to U.S. involvement and the history of the conflict.

The White House review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan in 2009 opted for a competitive decision-making process. This time, the administration has aimed at consensus, which should make executing the strategy easier, writes Brett McGurk in Foreign Affairs.