Cut And Run From Afghanistan?
Hmm…
U.S. Cedes Duties in Rebuilding Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Four years into a mammoth reconstruction effort here that has been largely led, funded and secured by Americans, the United States is showing a growing willingness to cede those jobs to others.
The most dramatic example will come by this summer, when the U.S. military officially hands over control of the volatile southern region — plagued by persistent attacks from Islamic militias — to an international force led by the NATO alliance. The United States will cut its troop strength by 2,500, even though it is not clear how aggressively NATO troops will pursue insurgents, who have shown no sign of relenting.
At the same time, the U.S. government is increasingly allowing Western allies, or Afghans themselves, to take on the tasks of rebuilding a country that has suffered more than two decades of fighting and remains beset by poverty, drugs and insurgency.
The United States says that its shifting approach complements Afghanistan’s evolution into a self-sustaining democracy and that Washington has no plans to pull out altogether.
“The Afghans have to have enough space to make their own decisions, even to stumble sometimes,” said U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann. “But we shouldn’t leave them without critical support before they’re strong enough.”
So, in short, we are drawing down U.S. military and rebuilding forces in Afghanistan in favor of allowing the Afghans themselves rebuild their country and defend it from the terrorists. With some help from our international allies. Is this a negative thing? I don’t think so. For one thing, that Afghanistan is able to take more of a role in defending itself is a positive sign of progress. For another, that international forces are willing to take a more active role in Afghanistan is a testament to Bush administration diplomacy.
Yet despite the fact that this is a positive development (after all, it means that more troops can come home) the left is still in spin mode calling this a “cut and run” from Afghanistan.
