SIDE BY SIDE - As U.S. Army Sgt. Albert Smith pulls security, two Afghan boys navigate around him in a village near Qalat, Afghanistan, April 26, 2011. Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul visited the village to discuss agricultural issues with the residents. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brian FergusonObama Faces Critical Decision On Afghan Troop Withdrawal -- John Bolton, L.A. Times
President Obama's pledge to start pulling troops from Afghanistan in July was imprudent. It will be downright dangerous if the conditions on the ground he pays attention to are political ones at home.
President Obama must soon make a critical decision: how many and what type of U.S. forces to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan this summer. The July withdrawal date is an artificial deadline, one the president created not because it would help us reach our goals in this strategically critical country but for his own domestic political purposes. When Obama made the promise in 2009, at the same time he announced the surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it was imprudent. The way he keeps it now could be downright dangerous.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Why Afghanistan could upend Obama’s reelection strategy -- Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post
‘Follow the Bear’ in Afghanistan – crazy or clever? -- Robert Haddick, Small Wars Journal
Factbox: A look at costs of Afghan war to U.S. taxpayers -- Reuters
U.S. strategy in Afghanistan likened to disastrous Soviet invasion -- Winnipeg Free Press/Canadian Press
Pakistan confronts U.S. Afghan strategy -- M. K. Bhadrakumar, The Hindu
Will Libya hawks win Obama over? -- Robert Dreyfuss, CBS
Is Gaddafi a legitimate target? -- Nicholas Grief, The Guardian
Analysis: NATO initiatives not seen decisive in Libya war -- Reuters
Tanks signal beginning of end for Assad -- David Gardner, Financial Times
Obama's conflicting policies on Syria -- Aaron David Miller, Politico
No civil war after Assad -- Hussain Abdul-Hussain, NOW
Fatah and Hamas agree to end feud, form government -- Marwa Awad, Real Clear World
Hamas-Fatah pact: Is the peace process over? -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
No.1 US priority in Middle East: regime change in Iran -- Chuck Freilich, Christian Science Monitor
Is the Thai-Cambodia standoff a conflict of convenience? -- Patrick Winn, Global Post
China hopes to avoid fresh revolts -- Frank Ching, China Post
Ivory Coast: A ragtag army falls apart -- Elizabeth Dickinson, Passport/Foreign Policy
A Radical Plan for Cutting the Defense Budget and Reconfiguring the U.S. Military.
Total savings: $279.5 billion. -- Douglas MacGregor, Foreign Policy
The American Soviet -- Victor David Hanson, NRO
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