Afghanistan-Iraq Balance To Be High On Obama Agenda

Barack Obama met with Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan. The senator wants military resources to be diverted to the Afghan conflict Photo: REUTERS (Photo from The Telegraph)

From Voice Of America:

President-elect Barack Obama has said that very soon after his inauguration on Tuesday he will meet with top U.S. military leaders to discuss priorities. During the election campaign he said he would give the military a new mission in Iraq. But priorities have changed since then and now the meeting may focus more on Afghanistan, where Mr. Obama is expected to implement a troop increase that President Bush promised.

The president-elect had said he wanted most U.S. combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months of his inauguration. But late last year, the Bush administration signed an agreement with Iraq that takes a different approach, requiring the removal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by June, and the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the entire country by the end of 2011.

It is not clear exactly what orders Obama will give, but he has said he will listen to the concerns of top military officers before making any final decisions.

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Update: SCENARIOS - Obama faces wars, nuclear aims of Iran, North Korea -- Reuters

My Comment: President Obama is in a very difficult situation. If Iraq goes back to civil war (which I doubt) .... but if it does he will be blamed for terribly miscalculating the consequences of an American withdrawal from the country.

For Afghanistan, the options are even worse. He cannot win with the forces that he has in the country now, but if he withdrawals the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies will win and quickly take over the country. He will be blamed for this outcome.

Bringing more soldiers in without a plan or strategic objective will result in more American casualties .... another no winner for President Obama's administration.

It is no surprise that Iraq and Afghanistan are to be on the top of his foreign policy agenda. The consequences of things going wrong will ruin his other policy agendas .... a situation that he and his team know.