Osama bin Laden killing sparks calls for early Afghanistan withdrawal

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

The killing of Osama bin Laden has opened up divisions inside Barack Obama's administration over whether the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan, which is scheduled to begin this summer, should be bigger and faster than planned.

Politicians, soldiers and analysts from the US to Afghanistan have debated whether the removal of the al-Qaida leader will shorten the war and open the way for reconciliation with the Taliban.

The Pentagon, braced for a Taliban onslaught in the spring, wants only a token cut of about 2,000 of the 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan. But members of Congress called for significant cuts given that Bin Laden had been the reason for going into Afghanistan, a view shared by some in the White House who are thinking about Obama's re-election chances next year.

Obama is due to announce in July the scale of the troop drawdown.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-afghanistan-us-troops

[Old and In the Way]

1. Seems like the Pentagon is in the business of advocating for Defense Contractors these days.

Their future lobbying jobs most likely depend on supporting wars without end.

[OhioChick]

2. I think we should've left long ago.

With OBL gone, we have no reason to be there.

[No Elephants]

13. We never had a reason to be there. Killing of a Pakistani resident has nothing to do with Afghani-

stan.

I'll accept any excuse for leaving, though.

[leahcim]

3. "Osama bin Laden killing sparks calls for..."

"...slightly less comically late Afghanistan withdrawal" more like it.

[Rage for Order]

4. "Early withdrawal"? That's an interesting way of putting it

We have been there for 9 years, after all

[Vincardog]

5. The only thing early about this withdrawal will be that the RW thugs have not cum yet

[JackRiddler]

6. DO IT!!!

[plumbob]

7. Hardly "early", but yes, let's get the hell gone!

Never should have been there in the first place.

[SecularMotion]

8. Calls grow for Afghan pullout

Source: Boston Globe

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden’s death fueled demands yesterday for a hastened drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan, despite warnings that a rapid withdrawal could lead that nation into chaos.

Fewer than 100 Al Qaeda fighters are believed to remain in the country, according to CIA assessments, and bin Laden’s death is the most dramatic illustration of how attacks have decimated the terrorist group’s leadership.

“With Al Qaeda largely displaced from the country, but franchised in other locations, Afghanistan does not carry a strategic value that justifies 100,000 American troops and a $100 billion per year cost, especially given current fiscal constraints,’’ Senator Richard G. Lugar, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy for decades, said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing yesterday.

The death of bin Laden, the Americans’ primary target at the onset of the war 10 years ago, comes at a key juncture. President Obama has vowed to begin withdrawing forces in July and is awaiting an assessment by the outgoing coalition leader, General David H. Petraeus, before revealing how deep the cuts will be and whether combat troops will be included.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/05/04/bin_laden_death_fuels_new_us_review_of_afghan_war/

[aquart]

OUT NOW!

[NeoConsSuck]

10. despite warnings that a rapid withdrawal...

could lead to a big loss for the military industrial complex. And we can't have that now, can we? My, oh my, who will be the next bogeyman?

[aquart]

11. Kellogg Brown and Root might suffer?

Why that's the cherry on my Osama's Dead cake.

[OKNancy]

9. kick

[No Elephants]

12. I can only repeat what I posted on the Durbin thread:

"As the drum beat for leaving Afghanistan now that Osama (who was living in PAKISTAN) is dead increases, it seems clear the WH wants finally to do something different in Afghanistan.

I welcome that, no matter how belated it may be, but I am having trouble stomaching the kabuki.


And let's really get out, please. Karzai ain't worth propping up."

[creon]

14. Yes

It is time.

The operation in Afghanistan no longer has a rationale.

It is time to start leaving.

[Wednesdays]

15. Early withdrawal?

EARLY!?
:banghead: