Obama ran in 2008 on a promise to pull out of Iraq and fight harder in Afghanistan. In 2009 he therefore had little choice but to go along with the plan developed by his military chiefs, to send in more troops and spend more on nation building.
Now, though, it looks like he has decided that no feasible amount of men and money is going to transform Afghanistan, and he is headed for the exit as fast as he can without looking craven. He has already pulled out 10,000 troops and the withdrawal of 23,000 more is already scheduled. We agreed with our NATO allies on complete withdrawal of combat forces by the end of 2014, but Secretary Panetta let slip this week that we up that timetable and get out by the end of 2013. I agree with Fred Kaplan that Obama has had enough and will no longer listen to any general who thinks another year would make a big change. Can't happen soon enough, if you ask me.
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