Obama should agree with new French president on some points

In an article in the Huffington Post Robert Naiman suggests that Obama should agree with Francois Hollande the newly elected French president on two points. First he should agree that a new deal in Europe promoting growth rather than emphasizing austerity should be promoted. Secondly, he should agree with Hollande that withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan should be speeded up.

As Naiman points out Obama is likely to try and convince Hollande not to withdraw French troops more quickly.. Naiman says that both Hollande and Obama agree on ending the Afghan war. On this I think that Naiman is incorrect. Obama is not that nterested in ending the war at present. In fact the Strategic Partnership Agreement extends U.S involvement in Afghanistan until at least 2024.What he is interested in is to commit less troops so that there are fewer casualties and less negative political reaction in an election year. He knows that the war is unpopular. But at the same time he is committing the U.S. to financing Afghanistan's military to the tune of about a billion a year after 2014.

Obama still supports NATO's involvement in Afghanistan. He simply wants other NATO members such as France to share in the cost both in terms of troops and financially.

Perhaps Obama will make common cause with Hollande on changing European austerity policy. However, I would not be surprised if he were luke warm even to that knowing that U.S. ally Britain and key European player Germany are in favor of continuing austerity measures as are most financial capitalists. For more see the full article.

U.S. Afghan war support lowest ever at 30 percent

The Afghan war began almost eleven years ago. A poll by ABC News and the Washington Post shows support for the post 9/11 invasion and occupation is the lowest on record.

Two thirds of Americans believe that war was not worth fighting and only 30 per cent now support the war. The lowest registered before this was 33 per cent.

No doubt the negative reaction may be partly due to recent events in Afghanistan including the Kandahar massacre, the burning of Korans, and troops urinating on dead bodies. The toll of Americans killed and wounded no doubt is another important factor. The tally of Americans killed is around 2,000. but then there are many wounded as well.

While Obama is withdrawing combat troops by the end of 2014 the U.S. is also negotiating a long term agreement for the U.S. to maintain a presence in Afghanistan for many years after that. No doubt Special Forces will stay in Afghanistan and many others to train Afghans. For more see this article.

Top U.S. commander wants 68,000 U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan in 2013

When asked by Sen. John McCain about future withdrawals Gen. John Allen replied:“My opinion is that we will need significant combat power through the end of 2013. . . . Sixty-eight thousand is a good going-in number.., “but I owe the president some analysis on that.”

However Allen stressed that no decision had been made and that he would make recommendations to the White House only after the departure this September of the 23,000 surge troops sent in 2010.

Allen said he was confident that his opinions would be considered by the White House. Obama seemed to be signaling subtly that he may be changing his own views on withdrawal. He said he did not want a "steep cliff" at the end of 2014 when all NATO combat troops are scheduled to be withdrawn as set out in an agreement with the Afghan government.

Behind the scenes and without much commentary from the press negotiations are going on between the U.S. and Afghanistan on a long term U.S. presence in the country after 2014.. One of the sticking points is night raids that Karzai has long opposed. That this issue even comes up shows that the U.S. would still be in Afghanistan in a combat role.

Even though polls show the U.S. public is weary of the Afghan war and a majority want a withdrawal, the reality is that the U.S. intends to stay actively involved indefinitely .

The coalition hopes to have 352,000 Afghan army and police in place by the end of this year. Although some reports put the cost at 4 to 5 billion a year a defense spokesperson said it would be more than that. The total annual revenue of the Afghan government is about 2 billion. Wonder who will cover the extra costs? For more see this article.

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