Decision on Afghanistan Coming Soon

When President Obama announced his troop surge into Afghanistan in December of 2009, part of his strategy was that by July 2011, he would begin withdrawing U.S. forces from that country. That time is now due, as next month the president will begin his Afghan troop withdrawal, and the question now is how many troops will leave Afghanistan?

Everyone has an opinion on what should happen next month. Democrats want substantial troop reductions and eventually an end to the war. Republicans want it to be conditions based, but now more Republicans have been signaling that it's time to leave.

The one element that is missing in the entire debate is what is the U.S. strategy for the future of the region and for Afghanistan? Right now everyone is talking tactics and not strategy! No matter who you ask, they will be speaking about tactics in regard to how many troops should be withdrawn, even the president has been missing in what is his strategic goal for the region.

If the U.S. consistently focuses only on a tactical decision as it factors how many troops to withdraw, the U.S. will be making a strategic miscalculation of epic proportion, much like the strategic mistake that took place when it abandoned the same country after the Russians were forces to withdraw in 1989.

U.S. foreign policy the past couple of years has been missing a broad strategic vision. The presidents strategy seems to be "I am not George Bush!" The president needs to articulate a strategy on what his administration wants to accomplish in Afghanistan, and for that matter the broader region. If not we will suffer the consequences.

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