Is the President About to Announce a Quicker End to Afghan War?
by Jon Soltz
05/20/2012
One of the advantages of serving a couple of tours in Iraq as an officer is the number of contacts I've made who have gone on to be senior planners in Afghanistan. What I am hearing from them about the state of things in Afghanistan, and reading the tea leaves, it seems that President Obama may be on the verge of announcing a major change in mission in Afghanistan -- one which largely pulls back our troops from previous plans for the summer, and puts us on an expedited path towards ending the war.
Currently, Afghanistan is obviously a big subject at the NATO conference in Chicago, with France's new government already having promised to remove troops. Meanwhile, General John Allen has announced his departure as commander of forces in Afghanistan, while the President just returned from Afghanistan. And, it seems not coincidental that The New York Times Sunday edition ran a piece on President Obama's last shift on the war.
Combined, everything is telling me that a major announcement is coming, very soon. It'd be a welcome change, as VoteVets.org has long called for a shift towards an Advise, Train and Assist (ATA) role, which is a bridge towards a more limited counter-terror mission in the region, with the war in Afghanistan itself effectively over...
For the full article, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/is-the-president-about-to_b_1531661.html
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