40,000 troops leaving Afghanistan by end of 2012

[bigtree]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Drawdown plans announced by the U.S. and more than a dozen other nations will shrink the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan by 40,000 troops at the close of next year, leaving Afghan forces increasingly on the frontlines of the decade-long war.

The United States is pulling out the most _ 33,000 by the end of 2012. That's one-third of 101,000 American troops who were in Afghanistan in June, the peak of U.S. military presence in the war, according to figures provided by the Pentagon.

Others in the 49-nation coalition have announced withdrawal plans too, while insisting they are not rushing to leave. Many nations have vowed to keep troops in Afghanistan to continue training the Afghan police and army in the years to come. And many have pledged to keep sending aid to the impoverished country after the international combat mission ends in 2014 . . .

About 14,000 foreign troops will withdraw by the end of December, according to an Associated Press review of more than a dozen nations' drawdown plans. The United States is pulling out 10,000 service members this year; Canada withdrew 2,850 combat forces this summer; France and Britain will each send about 400 home; Poland is recalling 200; and Denmark and Slovenia are pulling out about 120 combined.

Troop cutbacks will be deeper next year, when an estimated 26,000 more will leave. That figure includes 23,000 Americans, 950 Germans, 600 more French, 500 additional Britons, 400 Poles, 290 Belgians, 156 Spaniards, 100 Swedes and 50 Finns.


read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/40-000-troops-leaving-Afghanistan-by-end-of-2012-2302306.php

[The Straight Story]

1. Former Afghan Anti-Drug Czar Says Opium Production Ready to Skyrocket

Former Afghan Anti-Drug Czar Says Opium Production Ready to Skyrocket

Afghanistan’s former anti-drug czar has warned that opium poppy cultivation will dramatically increase as foreign combat troops head home, with farmers and insurgents taking advantage of a withdrawal set to be complete by the end of 2014.Insecurity in poppy growing regions in Afghanistan — the world’s leading producer of opium — and the expectation among insurgents and farmers that the country will be under the full control of Afghan forces within years is driving production, ex-counter-narcotics minister General Khodaidad said.

“With the coming exit strategy for 2014, the whole thing will be completely out of control. All the provinces will go more and more back to poppy,” Khodaidad said at his Kabul house.

The country’s poppy economy, which is estimated to provide insurgents with between $100 million and $400 million in funding each year, grew significantly in 2011, as soaring prices pushed farmers nationwide to expand production.

Land under poppy cultivation climbed 7 per cent from 2010 and the crop returned to three provinces in the north and east that had been declared “poppy-free,” according to a joint report by the U.N. drugs agency and Afghanistan’s counter-narcotics ministry released in October.

http://publicintelligence.net/former-afghan-anti-drug-czar-says-opium-production-ready-to-skyrocket/

[bigtree]

2. Iran Helping Afghanistan With Drug War

Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan agreed to altogether fight opium smuggling

According to AP, it reported, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan on Monday agreed to add regional cooperation to wean drug smuggling off at a time when the cultivation of illegal opium poppy is adding.

Most of the opium from Afghanistan is shipped through Iran and Pakistan, and the three countries have for the past four years been involved in a U.N.-sponsored initiative to set up joint planning cells in each country to coordinate their efforts. They pledged to bolster joint operations targeting smugglers and the networks they use to get the drug to the international marketplace.

"Iran is a transit route and the production of drugs in Afghanistan is on the increase," said Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najar, who heads the country's counter-narcotics department. "The reason is high demand."

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1772518

[AmericaIsGreat]

3. So, we're going to have almost 70,000

STILL there in 2013?

That's...great.

[bigtree]

5. that's right

or less.

The only thing revealing about this article is the number of foreign troops that will be leaving. There are several developments which I believe will compel the administration to speed up the withdrawal even more, but no one is expecting these forces will come out all at once. First, the 'surge' troops will exit. Then the Marines will likely end most combat and do most of their operations at base training Afghan soldiers.

That said, there is still the President's address at the NATO summit in March where the military and the administration has hinted there could be a even quicker 'handover' announced, ultimately leading to fewer casualties and more troops returning.

[AmericaIsGreat]

9. Seriously fucked up

I guess I just haven't been paying attention recently but I could have sworn we were going to be out of Afghanistan by next year. Such bullshit.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Gee, ya' think it being an election year has anything to do with it?

Remove 40k to impress the anti-war people, leave 70k, to prove we haven't really lost, to satisfy the hawks?

[bigtree]

6. it's pretty much what they've said they would do all along

except, there is a reality setting in that they've come to the point of even more diminishing returns. Military commanders have never sounded more anxious to end their role there.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. They're still playing CYA with people's lives in a lost war they're afraid of admitting is lost.

[bigtree]

8. yes they are