Posted on 09/20/2012 6:49:42 PM PDT by JerseyanExile
Nearly two years after President Barack Obama ordered 33,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to tamp down the escalating Taliban violence, the last of those surge troops have left the country, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The withdrawal, which leaves 68,000 American forces in the warzone, comes as the security transition to Afghan forces is in trouble, threatened by a spike in so-called insider attacks in which Afghan Army and police troops, or insurgents dressed in their uniforms, have been attacking and killing U.S. and NATO forces.
And it's called into question the core strategy that relies on NATO troops working shoulder to shoulder with Afghans, training them to take over the security of their own country so the U.S. and its allies can leave at the end of 2014 as planned.
The number of U.S. forces there peaked at about 101,000 last year, and they have been coming out slowly over the past several months.
The surge was aimed at beating back the Taliban to give the Afghan government and its security forces the time and space to take hold. The key goal was to ensure that the Taliban did not regain a foothold in the country that could allow it once again to become a safe haven for terror groups. And there was hope that Taliban members would be willing to come to the peace table.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Now the slaughter begins.
Did we win?
Obama's "Surge" had no strategic underpinnings. By aping the successful Iraq surge Obama hoped to be viewed as a successful CiC. It was all PR.
Problem: Afghanistan has repeatedly swallowd armies larger than our own paltry 100,000 man force. There was never any prospect of success. All they had to do was ask the Russians. The Russians shelled the snot out of Grozny -- something we would never have done regardless the provocation. If they were that ruthless and loss what prospect for victory did we have?
No. Best effort still goes to Genghis Khan.
I have to hope you are wrong.
What else can I do?
My nephew deploys to Afghanistan at the end of the month, for a year. He has a wife and three little boys.
Declare victory and bring everyone out. Nuke as needed to obtain Afghan diplomatic support.
Afghans add zero to the American way and quality of life.
I will pray for your nephew.
In the military one is admonished to not reinforce
failure. Obama on the otherhand is not reinforcing
a working solution, but throwing in the towel after
the surge was working.
I do not have high hopes for that country.
God Bless your nephew and thank him for his service.
We who have served know the sacrifice he is making.
Thanks very much for your prayers.
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