Article by Zaven Kevorkian of Where Is My Vote?
In a decade long war with Afghanistan which was sanctioned by the Bush’s administration, the efforts of Obama to put an end to the war has gotten underway. In an announcement, he revealed that 33,000 surge troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May or June 2012 that he had sent in after much deliberation in late 2009.
Some experts consider this move of his to be to please the voters, keeping in mind the 2012 Presidential elections that will begin in earnest next year while others consider it to be a calculated retreat due to the successful completion of every mission that his administration had considered when making such a move in 2009.
According to Obama, the deployment of these troops were to complete three objectives: deal with Al-Qaeda, get the Taliban to withdraw and to train Afghan forces to take care of their own country despite a growing realization that Afghanistan might never be able to have a stable government and long lasting peace from the civil war that has torn the country into shreds over the last few decades.
However, this is not just about political strategy as there is an expenditure of $ 120 billion every year as American troops stay in Afghanistan.
To some, he has accomplished his mission while to the others; he has only continued to follow the policies of the Bush administration, if only with more effectiveness in completing the task that has taken almost a decade to finish.
With Osama Bin Laden gone, Obama does not consider it a necessity for so many troops to remain in Afghanistan while his critics say that this move is solely so that he can please voters. Others aren’t so sure as to whether the contribution of American troops in the region will restore harmony but what is for sure is that if there’s a way that needs to be fought in Afghanistan, the fighting should be left to the Afghans.