| Daily News Brief January 9, 2013 |
Top of the Agenda: U.S. Weighs Complete Afghanistan Withdrawal
U.S. officials have raised the possibility of a complete military withdrawal (Guardian)
from Afghanistan for the first time as Afghan President Hamid Karzai
arrived in Washington for three days of talks over military and economic
ties. Some reports say that the Obama administration plans to slash
forces by more than half (LAT)
during the next sixteen months; Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the
international forces in Afghanistan, had wanted to keep the majority of
the 66,000 U.S. troops in place through the summer, traditionally the
heaviest months of fighting against Taliban insurgents. On Friday,
Karzai holds his first face-to-face talks with President Barack Obama
since last year's NATO summit in Chicago.
Analysis
"One
of the preeminent fears that the U.S. and other Western countries have
is the possible return of an al Qaeda safe haven, and a Kabul-based
government that is busy buying off its foes in various regions won't be
able to extend its writ throughout the country to prevent such a safe haven from reemerging," writes David Gartenstein-Ross for The Atlantic.
"A decorated Vietnam veteran acutely aware of the limits of military power, Chuck Hagel is likely to favor a sizable drawdown
in Afghanistan, more frugal spending at the Pentagon and extreme
caution when contemplating the use of force in places like Iran or
Syria," writes Phil Stewart for Reuters.
"Any move to opt for exigency steps by undermining the fundamentals of power
transfer will prove to be too costly. Obama, who in his first term
dispensed with his promise of ending the Afghan war, has a
responsibility to hand over a free and stable Afghanistan back to its
sovereigns," writes an editorial for the Khaleej Times.
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