Via Ackerman, according to the the Associated Press, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told the Security Council that “the international community should set a timeline to end the war in Afghanistan.”
Here’s Ackerman’s analysis:
Is it too much of a stretch to wonder if Karzai is floating the timetable idea as a bankshot way of promoting his negotiations with the Taliban? In other words, is he trying to box people -- namely, Americans -- in to thinking that the only thing less desirable than negotiating with the insurgency is to set a date for leaving Afghanistan, so they better support the first option?
And another thing, in the context of those negotiations: If it's true that the Taliban feels stronger than the government right now, would it feel such an incentive to negotiate if it believed Karzai was going to kick the U.S. out no matter what?
I really don’t know how to read this. If it is a bankshot it’s a hell of a maneuver. I don’t think Obama would be opposed to such negotiations in the first place, so I’m not sure why they’re turning the screws on us. First and foremost I’m guessing it’s just the more straightforward example Ackerman raises, response to domestic pressure.
I guess it’s time to put a more thought in how we can exit in a manner that best serves the Afghan people and kneecaps Al Qaeda. Just exiting will put a damper on recruitment, but Osama was in Afghanistan well before we were.
Comments