Posted on 06/20/2011 10:46:35 AM PDT by kristinn
Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, would endorse a presidential announcement that the 30,000 troops committed as part of a 2009 surge to the country would be back home by end of 2012, military and administration officials tell National Journal.
Formally, Petraeus wants to withdraw one brigade combat team of about 5,000 troops by the end of the year, and another 5,000 by the spring of next year. But mindful that the political environment in the U.S. and in Congress has turned sharply against the war, Petraeus is aware that the extra brigades he inherited cannot remain in place through 2014, when control of the country's security is scheduled to be officially turned over to indigenous Afghan forces.
Petraeus is expected to be confirmed as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency by September. He wants his successor, Lt. Gen. John Allen, to keep the extra brigades operational as long as possible. If they stay in the theater until the end of 2012, their force presence would equal the duration that troops surged to Iraq spent there.
Petraeus will spend this week in Washington, participating in deliberations with the White House and members of the National Security Council. Leon Panetta, the current CIA director who is expected to be confirmed shortly as secretary of Defense, is playing a particularly influential role in the discussions, officials said. Panetta has not endorsed a particular course of action, instead urging the president to be guided by intelligence assessments.
A senior administration official said that President Obama has not decided what to do or say. “He is reviewing many inputs, of which [Petraeus's] is a very important one,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter freely.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
I would endorse bringing all our troops home by Christmas - not another drop of blood for wars we are not even trying to win. Not another drop of blood to build new schools and power plants in muslim countries for people who hate us and our way of life & then destroy whatever good we tried to do for them.
Then our troops can be dispersed along our borders and to all the ports and protect our country for a change. And then they can actually vote in the next election and have their ballots counted (finally).
They are not allowed to fight and NOT supported with all our Might,Hell end this sham NOW.
I’m beginning to feel the same way. My husband is over there now. He gets really upset when he hears about any big draw downs. He thinks it’s disrespectful to all of the US lives that have been lost already over there. However, it seems like there is no way out of there. What is the point anymore? Our men have to fight with their hands tied behind their back while practically blindfolded.
I would first snd foremost bring all troops home from the Balkans.
Declare victory, leave in defeat.
What are we accomplishing now in Afg? Bring our hero troops home and redeploy as needed on the Southern Border!
I pray that your husband will return home safely & soon. Our PINO and his minions have no respect for the military and are quite happy to make the troops’ lives as miserable and deadly as possible. Traitors one & all in that WH.
And many of us at the American Legion feel the same way.
May God be with him.
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