Afghanistan Draw-Down Imminent...

[vaberella]

So I remember someone saying to me that they have some inside info stating that Obama will keep us in Afghanistan indefinitely by sending in more troops.

From what I can see. That doesn't seem to be the case. Of course we still have a month before June happens and anything can change then. But it doesn't seem that way. It seems that the troops will be coming out of Afghanistan as the final number of soldiers in Iraq are also on their way out.

At first I was aware and hoped that the Afghanistan draw down would happen. But I'm more convinced because of the recent cabinet shake-up. Patreaus leaving the surge in Afghanistan to move to the CIA. Says to me the Afghanistan thing is inevitable. Obama's done with it and we're moving out.

I don't see Obama taking Patreaus out of this position for fun. If he wasn't dead set on starting the end, Patreaus would still be there organizing this.

What are anyone else's thoughts?

[tekisui]

1. I'll believe it when I see it. I expect *some* troops will come out in July

so that they can say they were honest. However, I am not convinced it will be a significant number or that it will be the start of an actual withdrawal. It will likely be a reduction, but there will still be no end in sight. I have yet to here a schedule of when it will actually end. I have heard that we will likely still have troops there past 2014.

I am also not convinced that ALL US troops will be out of Iraq by the end of this year.

[tekisui]

2. No decision yet on Afghanistan troop drawdown

(Reuters) - The Obama administration, looking to wind down the war in Afghanistan even as insurgent attacks continue, has not yet decided how many troops will start coming home in July, the defense chief said on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he had not yet gotten recommendations from David Petraeus, the American general who commands the 132,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, about how many troops Washington should withdraw starting in July.

"I expect that (the recommendations) will be coming in the not-too-distant-future," Gates told reporters after meeting his British counterpart Liam Fox.

President Barack Obama, who rose to prominence as a critic of the Iraq war, has promised to begin removing some of the 100,000 U.S. soldiers this summer, a first step toward ending a war that has waning support among Americans.

more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/26/us-afghanistan-usa-idUSTRE73P79B20110426

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Thanks for that.....OP debunked.

What we need is a COMPLETE withdrawal and nothing less.

[Peacetrain]

19. Well actually tekisui's link supports varabella's op..

[Cali_Democrat]

25. The link refers to no decisions and only possible recommendations for a draw down.

It makes no mention of an imminent draw down and how many troops will be coming home.

Technically, 1 troop removed from Afghanistan can be considered a draw down. Even if we remove the 30,000 additional troops that Obama sent, we will be back to where we were in 2008. Even a draw down won't do it for me.

It looks like we will still have a sizable force in Afghanistan for the next several years.

That is completely unacceptable. We need a complete withdrawal of ALL US forces immediately.

[vaberella]

29. No it stated there have been no recommendations yet.

But doesn't assure there is no draw down happening. And I said it's imminent which has yet to be false. Further more, there is no proof there is 30,000 troops left. We don't know and teh draw down will start in August until December and continue onwards.

[vaberella]

28. How is my post de-bunked?

The article that was posted stated there would be a draw-down, just not how much has been settled on. I never gave a number. I stated the draw-down would happen. And the article doesn't seem to dispute that. Not to mention---Rachel Maddow and almost any other news outlet says there is a troop draw down this summer.

[vaberella]

27. Reuters would be the only one lost. All other media outlets.

From guests on Rachel Maddow and RM herself and others have said contrary.

[jenmito]

3. I agree with you. So does Bob Woodward. His choice of Panetta to replace Gates

and putting Petraeus in as head of CIA sends big signals that we WILL be getting out of Afghanistan. Woodward said Obama desperately wants to get out of Afghanistan, and wants to reduce cost, too.

[tekisui]

4. Sure,we'll get out. But when? No one will say.

[jenmito]

5. We start in July and finish by 2014. They DID say. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

8. More than 3 years until a complete withdrawal??

Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick. When will our masters in Washington get it?

Get the fuck out of Afghanistan right fucking NOW!

You can be sure that we'll probably be engaged in some other foreign conflict by 2014. The Military Industrial Complex gets restless when they don't get to test out their fancy weapons on innocent civilians.

We'll probably be engaged in some war or another for the the next several decades. Why are we always embroiled in some kind of foreign conflict? It never fails. We need to stop sticking our nose in places it doesn't belong.

I know that I'm probably too anti-war and isolationist for some here.

[jenmito]

12. Correct...

they said it will take that long to transfer out while training the Afghanis. If they do it right now, all at once, I doubt it would be safe there.

And maybe YOU "can be sure that we'll probably be engaged in some other foreign conflict by 2014," but I don't believe that this administration agrees with you about the so-called MIC.

It must be terrible for you to believe the worst in our Dem. president, but then again, you seem to like believing the worst in him.

[Cali_Democrat]

13. Training troops while firing predator drone missiles in areas populated by civilians

Also, "targeted strikes" against Al-Qaeda. We're doing more than training troops. We are engaged in a full on war.

Also, it doesn't matter if the President believes me about the MIC. His proposed 2011 defense budget is the largest on record in the history of the USA....http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/01/obama-budget-pentagon-idUSN0120383520100201

He's feeding the MIC with over 700 billion in his new budget.

You're other point about believing the worst in him is interesting. It's not about belief on my part, it's about judging him by his actions.

[jenmito]

14. Yup, that's what he's doing...

using drones to try to kill high value targets. At the same time, they ARE training the Afghanis, whether you like it or not.

His defense budget is because we're still at war-wars that he didn't start. That doesn't mean he's feeding the MIC. As a matter of FACT, he's trying to get us OUT of the wars that Bush started, and he has kept his promise so far to get all combat troops out of Iraq, and to get the rest out by the end of next year.

You seem to attribute the worst intentions to Obama's actions.

[tekisui]

16. Intentions notwithstanding, the outcomes have been atrocious.

[Cali_Democrat]

18. The drone strikes have killed numerous civilians and not just the targets defined by the Pentagon

There is no escaping that fact. War is hell and our killing of innocents will only breed more terrorists and anti-American sentiment. It doesn't matter if Bush started the wars, they are continuing.

Obama's defense budget proposal is the largest on record and there is no escaping this fact. This money flows directly into the MIC. $700 billion. That is quite a lot of money , especially in a time when budget cuts continue to be discussed for other areas in the name of deficit reduction.

There will still be troops in Iraq, they will just be labeled differently and that figure doesn't even include civilian military contractors and other mercenaries.

I await the day until every last person, including military contractors and soldiers, are completely withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan and the military budget is dramatically reduced. Then we should focus on domestic spending.

This should happen immediately and I will continue to make my voice heard.

Again, forgive me for being a little too anti-war for your tastes.

[tekisui]

15. That isn't entirely clear. Do have a link for 2014?

Just last week it was said that combat will go through 2015. And, I imagine like Iraq, we will keep troops that have simply been relabeled as non-combat troops for a long time after that.

Further, 3 more years is 3 goddamn years too long.

[Peacetrain]

17. always pays to ask I say

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/meet-press-biden-says-2014-were-out-a

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/20/nato-we-wont-abandon-afghanistan/

[tekisui]

20. A bunch of squishy words there. As I expected,

Obama said most combat forces. Not all, not non-combat (which can be conveniently be renamed as we saw in Iraq). Still no end date or clear exit plan as far as I can tell.

[Peacetrain]

21. Seriously, we have not even got all the combat troops our of germany and japan

from WW2 ... I will take most any day of the week.. and it has to start somewhere.. this will not be a Vietnam type pullout.. that did not work either.

[tekisui]

22. I'm against the US acting a an Empire by maintianing troops

all over the world. And there is a huge difference to troops staying in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming years versus present-day Germany and Japan.

[Peacetrain]

24. I can appreciate that.. the whole idea of American as the worlds cop has got to end

And they will be coming out. Moving Patreaus out of Afghanstan, is probably the biggest sign besides the words of the President and Vice President but actual visual I can touch it sign, that the pull out is going to happen.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

7. Almost certain he'll reduce troop size

in an election year.

[former9thward]

9. Draw down Imminent? Guess it depends on your definition of "imminent".

Now they are saying 2015 "if things go well". http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/13/c_13827547.htm

[vaberella]

30. And there is no number set on.

You're reading an article that is making predictions without solid proof. We'll find out from the White House soon enough. However, the idea that troops will start coming out in June 2015 have not been confirmed----and they didn't name the officer. They never claimed Blake said 2015, they just said the situation is fragile.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. A National Guardsman who is a personal friend of mine and co-driver on my tractor/trailer just got

called to deploy to Afghanistan. He transports in July. He's been promised he'll do "no more than a year" with a wink and a nod.

He starts active duty training the second week in May.

Those are my thoughts.

[vaberella]

31. Yes and what does it mean?

When Iraq was drawing down the first time there were soldiers sent in to prepare the others to come out but they were deployed for combat.

[Peacetrain]

11. Listening in on the news today and having Pateaus moved to the CIA..opens the way for

draw down..

Makes sense to me, because Patreaus is such a favorite of he right.. that in order to do a draw down, you would almost have to move the General out of the way.. or that would bring on the storm troopers from the right.

By moving him into another office so to speak.. then the draw down can begin..

Something has seemed to happen. I wonder if they found Bin Laden?

[tekisui]

23. Nothing has happened except a decade of war.

And Gates retiring, that is the change. There is no indication that there will be any policy change.

[Vattel]

26. If President Obama starts closing up shop in Afghanistan in July,

then I will forgive him for everything and seriously campaign for him. An American president that knows when to cut our losses and get out of a bad war is almost unheard of.