HERO'S HANDSHAKE - U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, left, congratulates Army Pfc. Kevin F. Nieves after awarding the young man a Bronze Star Medal for Valor on Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 4, 2011. Nieves is assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard. Nieves also received the Purple Heart; the medals were for his actions defending Camp Phoenix from an attack April 2, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. James LallyWill The US Really Withdraw From Iraq And Afghanistan? -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian
Behind closed doors in the White House and the Pentagon, a battle is raging over the wisdom of a complete exit.
Retreating armies make easy targets, as the British learned to their cost when falling back from Kabul in 1842. Barack Obama, unlikely heir to bumbling General "Elphy Bey" Elphinstone, now faces two not dissimilar challenges: how to get US forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq with the minimum of bloodshed and the maximum of dispatch. Avoiding descent into post-withdrawal chaos would be an added bonus.
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My Comment: With a close U.S. Presidential election predicted next year, I sincerely doubt that President Obama will not withdraw troops from Afghanistan .... let alone keeping soldiers in Iraq. American withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan has become political .... and even though the Pentagon (and our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan) may want U.S. soldiers to remain, the political winds in Washington say otherwise .... and in the end that is the opinion that President Obama and Congress will listen to.