Wednesday, May 11, 2011

After Bin Laden, U.S. Reassesses Afghan Strategy

By THOM SHANKER and CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: May 10, 2011

WASHINGTON — The killing of Osama bin Laden has set off a reassessment of the war in Afghanistan and the broader effort to combat terrorism, with Congress, the military and the Obama administration weighing the goals, strategies, costs and underlying authority for a conflict that is now almost a decade old.

Two influential senators — John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana — suggested Tuesday that it was time to rethink the Afghanistan war effort, forecasting the beginning of what promises to be a fierce debate about how quickly the United States should begin pulling troops out of the country.

“We should be working toward the smallest footprint necessary, a presence that puts Afghans in charge and presses them to step up to that task,” Mr. Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at a hearing. “Make no mistake, it is fundamentally unsustainable to continue spending $10 billion a month on a massive military operation with no end in sight.”

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1 comment:

Wise Ole Party said...

This is a very heated debate and the WOP believes that pulling troops out of the country during this time period would not be beneficial to the nation. The troops need support in Afghanistan, especially now that their leader has been killed. The Al Queda and the Taliban has been in constant conflicts with the States and therefore constant training will be needed. The WOP provides for the military if there is a situation between any foreign nation. We will reduce the troops only if it is needed, however because of the terrorist attacks, there has been a dramatic increase of security. The WOP believes that the military has to be prepared for any surprises because there can be an undeclared war.

May 19, 2011 at 6:51 PM

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