Obama Trying to Prolong Afghanistan War Just As He Did Iraq
Afghanistan and U.S. soldiers bombard a Taliban-held village in Kandahar Province. (Bryan Denton/New York Times) The Obama administration is trying to persuade the Afghanistan government under President Hamid Karzai to accept U.S. terms for a status of forces agreement to prolong the U.S. war there, but how Karzai is sticking to his own terms. The New York Times comments : The impasse, after a year of talks, has increased the prospect of what the Americans call the zero option — complete withdrawal — when the NATO combat mission concludes at the end of 2014. That is precisely the outcome they hoped to avoid in Afghanistan, after having engaged in a similarly problematic withdrawal from Iraq two years ago. Ah, yes. The comparison to the situation in Iraq is apt, there, too, Obama wanted not to end the war and withdraw U.S. troops, but to extend the war and occupation. We may recall : While Obama is fond of taking credit for ending the war in Iraq, in fa...