jeypore
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New Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made Afghanistan his first foreign trip this weekend, and he quickly learned how difficult his tenure is likely to be. The Taliban gave him a rousing local welcome by sending suicide bombers to kill at least 18 people in Khost province and outside the Afghan Defense Ministry in Kabul, while President Hamid Karzai responded by saying the Taliban are acting "in the service of America."
Mr. Hagel had to restrict his schedule on Sunday after the bombing due to security concerns, including a joint media appearance with Mr. Karzai. The latter was just as well after the Afghan leader's insult to the thousands of Americans who have been killed or wounded fighting the Taliban.
Mr. Karzai's bizarre logic is that the U.S. doesn't want to ever leave Afghanistan so it secretly wants the Taliban to keep showing it poses a security risk. Mr. Karzai thinks he's shrewdly playing the nationalist card, but what he's really doing is increasing the chances that President Obama will use Mr. Karzai as an excuse for the U.S. to leave in toto when the foreign coalition's mandate ends in 2014. That's how Mr. Obama played it in Iraq.
As for Mr. Hagel, the bomb-and-bombast welcome shows how difficult the exit from Afghanistan is likely to be. As the U.S. retreats without having defeated the Taliban, Mullah Omar and his commanders have even less incentive to negotiate a peace agreement. They are likely to increase the violence—for political effect in Kabul, but to deadly strategic effect on Afghans who have cooperated with the coalition during the post-2009 surge.
The Defense chief inherits a premature withdrawal timeline that U.S. generals didn't want, precisely because they understood the political and military risks. Retreats without victory can be disorderly.
Review & Outlook: Hagel's Afghan Welcome - WSJ.com
So, does any one think that US is really leaving????
Mr. Hagel had to restrict his schedule on Sunday after the bombing due to security concerns, including a joint media appearance with Mr. Karzai. The latter was just as well after the Afghan leader's insult to the thousands of Americans who have been killed or wounded fighting the Taliban.
Mr. Karzai's bizarre logic is that the U.S. doesn't want to ever leave Afghanistan so it secretly wants the Taliban to keep showing it poses a security risk. Mr. Karzai thinks he's shrewdly playing the nationalist card, but what he's really doing is increasing the chances that President Obama will use Mr. Karzai as an excuse for the U.S. to leave in toto when the foreign coalition's mandate ends in 2014. That's how Mr. Obama played it in Iraq.
As for Mr. Hagel, the bomb-and-bombast welcome shows how difficult the exit from Afghanistan is likely to be. As the U.S. retreats without having defeated the Taliban, Mullah Omar and his commanders have even less incentive to negotiate a peace agreement. They are likely to increase the violence—for political effect in Kabul, but to deadly strategic effect on Afghans who have cooperated with the coalition during the post-2009 surge.
The Defense chief inherits a premature withdrawal timeline that U.S. generals didn't want, precisely because they understood the political and military risks. Retreats without victory can be disorderly.
Review & Outlook: Hagel's Afghan Welcome - WSJ.com
So, does any one think that US is really leaving????
