Afghan war is not over yet
(CNN) -- At the NATO summit in Chicago, President Obama and leaders of America's NATO allies agreed on an "irreversible" plan to withdraw from Afghanistan. But challenges remain.
Despite the deliberately unambiguous word choice used to describe the withdrawal, uncertainty about how the West will confront the obstacles ahead remains. Issues specifically related to Afghanistan are yet to be resolved, and plenty of others are tied to the volatile politics of the area.
The Afghan National Army is already taking the lead in regions with roughly 75% of the population, with U.S. and other NATO troops acting as support. However, this does not include the most contested areas in the south and east, where Afghan forces are slated to assume responsibility by next summer. Serious doubts persist about their readiness to do so.
Despite significant training efforts, the army's level of competence remains in question. It lacks many of the support functions needed for war fighting. The army will remain dependent on international forces for these capabilities and on the international community for financial assistance, expected to cost at least $4 billion a year.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/23/opinion/tankel-afghanistan/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories
An Afghanistan National Army soldier searches a car's passenger in Kandahar, a largely Pashtun city.
It is quite surprising that there are some people who think that the war is already over in when you think about it, there is more to it than what is being said and captured all around. I mean, it is challenging to actually be able to consider what people think and what is happening in reality. Soldiers are not being withdrawn still actually.
Rhiannon12866
(202,970 posts)Welcome to DU, ucarie! It's great to have you with us!
sad sally
(2,627 posts)WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 4:09pm EDT
(Reuters) - The United States will require "significant firepower" in Afghanistan in 2013-14, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces there said, but decisions about further U.S. troop reductions will only be made after this fall at the earliest.
"We're going to need combat power. I don't think anyone questions that," Marine General John Allen said on Wednesday. "I owe the president some real analysis on this."
Allen spoke to reporters two days after NATO leaders discussed Afghanistan's future in Chicago, embracing a plan to hand control to local security forces by the middle of 2013 and, Western leaders hope, to end the long, costly Afghan conflict.
By the end of this summer, Allen is due to withdraw all the 33,000 "surge" troops that President Barack Obama sent to battle the Taliban in 2009-2010.
Once those troops are gone, Allen will assess the campaign and make recommendations to the White House about how best to withdraw most of the remaining U.S. force of about 68,000.
"I intend to take a very hard look at the state of the insurgency," Allen said, and how Afghanistan's growing military is faring. Those factors will inform his recommendations to Obama about how many troops can be pulled in 2013 and 2014 without allowing the Taliban to stage a comeback.
"So there's not a number right now," he said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/us-usa-afghanistan-idUSBRE84M1DH20120523