General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Obama: No Permanent Bases In Afghanistan [View all]zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)He doesn't declare that all troops will be out by 2014, or ever. It's this "combat troops" kind of promise we saw in Iraq, but they continued to die anyway. When it came time to truly pull out of Iraq, the Sec Def and others were desperately trying to extend their stay, but Iraq wouldn't agree to our terms, so we left. Karazi could be far more accommodating if it serves his larger goals, most of which appear to be extensively corrupt. We won't have any "permanent bases" but we'll have a presence that never seems to end.
If there's something that gives me "hope", it is that the Karazi government is so corrupt, that the US probably will be glad to be rid of him. And that alone could be incentive not to hang around. Combine that with 2016 election year politics, and you might actually see us leave. Plus, I was encouraged to hear Obama talk about ending that war in an attempt to begin to focus on fixing things here at home. Since he wants to hold the line on the defense cuts that came out of the failed budget talks, he may be forced to achieve them by pulling out of Afghanistan altogether.
The 2012 elections may have alot to do with this. Taking back the House could help, although they weren't able to stop these wars when we had a democratic congress the first time 'round. But a democratic congress that is looking for budget cuts may be a bit more insistent this time around. It won't be a congress of huge stimulus spending, or large deficit increases. And they surely won't want to spend increased revenues from a Buffet Rule on extending the war in Afghanistan.