A weak America roars but retreats when the going gets tough

A weak America roars but retreats when the going gets tough On Wednesday the President of the United States announced that he would order a gradual troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. On a superficial level there is nothing surprising about this decision.

President Obama is simply implementing what he had promised the American people in 2009 when he agreed to honour General McCrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan.

A second glance at the President’s speech reveals something more interesting than the high cost of the war. In between the lines, what the President said amounts to an elimination of a key component in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and the elevation of a minor practice.


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