Liberal CFR: If Afghan Strategy is Working, Drawdown, If Not, Drawdown

Report: US Should Consider Smaller Afghan War Effort

VoA News: An independent panel is urging U.S. President Barack Obama to sharply curtail the military’s mission in Afghanistan if there are no signs of progress.

A task force created by the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based research group, issued a report Friday saying that the current approach to Afghanistan is at a critical point.

The report says the outcome of the 9-year Afghan war remains “uncertain” and that militants present a direct threat to the U.S. and its allies.

The 25-member panel is urging Mr. Obama to consider the high costs of the mission as it determines whether its efforts have been successful.

The Obama administration will conduct a thorough review of its Afghan war strategy next month. The independent panel says if progress is being made, the administration can proceed with its stated goal of withdrawing forces beginning in July 2011. But panel members say if U.S. efforts are not working, a more significant drawdown will be warranted.

Mr. Obama decided last year to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by 30,000 [short of the General's Request] 100,000 to battle Taliban and al-Qaida forces, while training Afghan security forces.

The administration has begun to suggest it is backing away from the July 2011 withdrawal date, instead stressing the goal of fully handing over control to Afghan security forces by 2014.

The task force also gave recommendations on Pakistan, suggesting the U.S. expand military ties and deepen economic cooperation following the devastating July floods. The report says the U.S. should continue to warn Pakistan that bilateral relations hinge on the government’s action against internal militant groups.

[Editor's Note: Less is not more when it comes to having friends with guns shooting back at the enemy.]