Laying The Groundwork For The Departure Of US Troops From Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta addresses the audience at the 48th Munich Security Conference in Munich, Feb. 4, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

A Loss We Can Live With -- James Traub, Foreign Policy

The endgame in Afghanistan isn’t 2013 or 2014; it’s already happened. The only thing now is to make sure that the retreat is not a total disaster for those we leave behind.

"It was Leon being Leon." This is the take you get when you ask Obama administration officials exactly what it was that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meant when he said last week that the administration wanted to move troops in Afghanistan from "a combat role to a training, advise and assist role…hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013." Panetta, that is, was just blurting something out, as is his wont. The administration didn't so much walk back Panetta's remark as frog-march it. CIA director David Petraeus complained in congressional testimony that Panetta's comments had been "over-analyzed." White House spokesman Jay Carney explained that the Pentagon chief was speaking of what "could happen," not what had been decided. A senior NATO official told me that Panetta's comments should be understood in an "aspirational" light. And so on.

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My Comment: This Foreign Policy article by James Traub focuses on US Defense Secretary Panetta and the official reaction to his comments .... but what is left out .... and I am willing to bet good money on it .... is that these views are probably shared by President Obama himself .... but because of politics he cannot publicly voice them out himself.

As to what is my take .... if Al Qaeda does not return to Afghanistan .... our national security will not be jeopardized if we leave the country. But .... if we continue to stay in the country .... and continue to fight the civil war that is happening there .... our national security resources will be strained and we will be absent from more troublesome spots in the world where our national security concerns are more significant.