; Afghanistan Progress Is so Fragile, We May Lose It

Summary

---

Eighteen months ago, President Obama or- dered a surge of U.S. troops into Afghan- istan, a prudent strat- egy reflecting conditions on the ground. Yet he also made the imprudent decision to publicly announce an arbitrary timetable for withdrawal beginning this month. This date had nothing to do with military strategy, but President Obama insisted on it, saying, "I can't lose the whole Democratic Party."

Last month, the president announced a sharp drawdown that conforms to that politically motivated timetable. This drawdown will remove 10,000 troops from Afghanistan this year, followed by 23,000 more by next summer. On June 28, the next U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. John Allen, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the president's decision is more aggressive than any option provided by Gen. David H. Petraeus and other commanders on the ground.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

; Afghanistan Progress Is so Fragile, We May Lose It

I am deeply concerned that the pace and size of the president's drawdown risks the fragile gains achieved by our troops since the surge was fully implemented in November. This drawdown will make it difficult,...

See the full content of this document

---