After heated debate with his senior aides, US President Barack Obama has finally announced of his US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan. First, he will withdraw the total 33,000 additional troops he sent to Afghanistan some 18 months ago back to the United States by the end of September 2012. When it comes to 2013, he will bring all the remaining 68,000 US troops stationed in Afghanistan back to the US homeland so that the United States can officially ‘end’ the US combat operations in Afghanistan.
Effort on National Building
In announcing his US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan, President Obama claimed that the United States has substantially completed the US goal in Afghanistan because Al-Qaida network leader Osama Bin Laden and half of Al-Qaida leadership have already been annihilated. As such, the earlier terrorism threat posed by the terrorist elements in Afghanistan has been eliminated. It is now time for the United States to focus its effort on national building.
In fact, by now, majority of the people in the United States have already suffered mental weariness not wanting the United States to engage in any kind of war. The people in the United States also think that it is time for the United States to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan. In this regard, US troops withdrawal plan from Afghanistan as announced by President Obama was well received by majority of the people in the United States. But amid this atmosphere of joyous mood in the US society, no one can conceal the hard fact that after the United States engages the war in Afghanistan for ten years, the US forces still cannot beat the Taliban forces.
Exploratory Talks With Taliban
While it remains a truth that the United States did topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan; but the Taliban regime has not collapsed. After the Taliban regime retreated to the Pakistan border, they have reorganized their force again. Until today, the presence of the reorganized Taliban force still poses a serious threat to the continual survival of the present Afghan Government.
In fact, in the end, the United States has also come to acknowledge such a political reality by starting to engage in exploratory talks with the Taliban forces recently. It is now the hope of the US Government to find a political solution to end the Afghanistan war so that peace and stability can be restored in Afghanistan.
After the United States engaged ten long years of war in Afghanistan, this military action taken by the United States has already wasted the precious lives of 1,500 Americans. However, if the US troops just walk away from Afghanistan now, it remains a big question mark to gauge if the Afghan military and police task force can really shoulder the responsibility to defend their homeland at this very moment. It is also a big question mark to gauge if Afghanistan can really establish a stable government after the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In retrospect, what the United States decides to do in Afghanistan now is quite similar to what the former Soviet Union has done some 20 years ago when it was also forced to retreat and quickly cast aside its heavy burden in Afghanistan after it invaded and occupied Afghanistan for close to 10 long years.
US Presidential Election Factor
The year 2012 is a presidential election year in the United States. But US President Obama's announcement of the US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan has come earlier than expected. Apparently, President Obama's decision and action to withdraw even more US troops from Afghanistan than most people have earlier expected has a great deal to do with his intention to be re-elected as a second term US President in 2012. Currently, the US weekly military expenditure in Afghanistan is $2billion. From afar, we can only use the expression ‘amazing’ to describe such a high US military expenditure in Afghanistan per week. To the present US economy which has already turned very tight, such a high military expenditure in Afghanistan is of course too much for the United States to bear. As such, the people in the United States have long complained about it and hoped that the US Government can take action to end the Afghanistan war as early as possible so that the large sum of money saved on the US military expenditure in Afghanistan can be spent on creating domestic employment. On this account alone, the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as announced by President Obama will be a plus point for him to be re-elected as a second term US President in 2012.
Of note is that After President Obama announced his US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan; subsequently, France and the United Kingdom have also announced that they will also withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. It seems to us that the Western countries are all eager to abandon this heavy burden called Afghanistan now.
Effort on National Building
In announcing his US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan, President Obama claimed that the United States has substantially completed the US goal in Afghanistan because Al-Qaida network leader Osama Bin Laden and half of Al-Qaida leadership have already been annihilated. As such, the earlier terrorism threat posed by the terrorist elements in Afghanistan has been eliminated. It is now time for the United States to focus its effort on national building.
In fact, by now, majority of the people in the United States have already suffered mental weariness not wanting the United States to engage in any kind of war. The people in the United States also think that it is time for the United States to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan. In this regard, US troops withdrawal plan from Afghanistan as announced by President Obama was well received by majority of the people in the United States. But amid this atmosphere of joyous mood in the US society, no one can conceal the hard fact that after the United States engages the war in Afghanistan for ten years, the US forces still cannot beat the Taliban forces.
Exploratory Talks With Taliban
While it remains a truth that the United States did topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan; but the Taliban regime has not collapsed. After the Taliban regime retreated to the Pakistan border, they have reorganized their force again. Until today, the presence of the reorganized Taliban force still poses a serious threat to the continual survival of the present Afghan Government.
In fact, in the end, the United States has also come to acknowledge such a political reality by starting to engage in exploratory talks with the Taliban forces recently. It is now the hope of the US Government to find a political solution to end the Afghanistan war so that peace and stability can be restored in Afghanistan.
After the United States engaged ten long years of war in Afghanistan, this military action taken by the United States has already wasted the precious lives of 1,500 Americans. However, if the US troops just walk away from Afghanistan now, it remains a big question mark to gauge if the Afghan military and police task force can really shoulder the responsibility to defend their homeland at this very moment. It is also a big question mark to gauge if Afghanistan can really establish a stable government after the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In retrospect, what the United States decides to do in Afghanistan now is quite similar to what the former Soviet Union has done some 20 years ago when it was also forced to retreat and quickly cast aside its heavy burden in Afghanistan after it invaded and occupied Afghanistan for close to 10 long years.
US Presidential Election Factor
The year 2012 is a presidential election year in the United States. But US President Obama's announcement of the US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan has come earlier than expected. Apparently, President Obama's decision and action to withdraw even more US troops from Afghanistan than most people have earlier expected has a great deal to do with his intention to be re-elected as a second term US President in 2012. Currently, the US weekly military expenditure in Afghanistan is $2billion. From afar, we can only use the expression ‘amazing’ to describe such a high US military expenditure in Afghanistan per week. To the present US economy which has already turned very tight, such a high military expenditure in Afghanistan is of course too much for the United States to bear. As such, the people in the United States have long complained about it and hoped that the US Government can take action to end the Afghanistan war as early as possible so that the large sum of money saved on the US military expenditure in Afghanistan can be spent on creating domestic employment. On this account alone, the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as announced by President Obama will be a plus point for him to be re-elected as a second term US President in 2012.
Of note is that After President Obama announced his US troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan; subsequently, France and the United Kingdom have also announced that they will also withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. It seems to us that the Western countries are all eager to abandon this heavy burden called Afghanistan now.
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