Washington, Nov 20: President Barack Obama’s vow to reveal his “end game” for Afghanistan may bolster any future decision to send more U.S. troops — but could also reinforce doubts over U.S. staying power in the conflict.
Political analysts say Obama is walking a tricky line as he readies his Afghan strategy, promising a dubious U.S. public and critics in his own Democratic Party that the war will not be open-ended while assuring allies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Europe of the U.S. commitment to victory.
Afghanistan’s Taliban militants, fighting to unseat the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, may also take hope from the suggestion that U.S. military commanders are planning a way out — although analysts say this may be too simplistic a reading of Obama’s intentions.
“It depends on what the president means about the exit strategy. A fixed date for withdrawal would be a bad idea, but that is not necessarily what he means,” said Stephen Biddle, an Afghanistan expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“The man is careful with the way he uses words … and if he means how do we get success that lets us leave, then that is the due diligence we would expect from the chief executive.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asked on Thursday about a timeline for turning security over to Afghan forces, said an eventual drawdown could follow the Iraq model and go region by region, but declined to discuss specifics.
“My assumption would be there will be some districts and some provinces where that handover could come relatively soon. But again in terms of specific dates I would leave that more to folks on the ground,” he told a news conference.
–Agencies