More than 2,300 US troops have now died in Afghanistan and the Taliban is not yet defeated although the administration can credibly claim to have devastated the core of Al-Qaeda with ruthless drone strikes.
There is a clear sense that Afghanistan is “Obama’s war.”
While he pulled out all US troops from Iraq and was unable to agree a residual force in a country descending back into an inferno — that war will always be George W. Bush’s.
History would take a dimmer view of the current president’s complicity if Afghanistan tips deeper into turmoil — and second term presidents are always thinking of their legacy.
Obama also risks being condemned by his own words if he leaves Afghanistan alone.
“We must realize that the 21st Century’s front lines are not only found on the field of battle. They are found in the training exercise near Kabul, in the police station in Kandahar and in the rule of law in Herat,” he said as a candidate in 2008.
About The Author
