Out of Afghanistan: Obama Accelerates Withdrawal

Barack Obama has decided to accelerate the withdrawal of troops already planned for July — and until now considered almost symbolic — in a real beginning of the end of hostilities. The Americans are leaving Afghanistan because al-Qaida has been defeated. Obviously, no one dares to utter the famous words “mission accomplished” that George W. Bush used to deceive the world that the nightmare of the Iraq war had truly ended. But senior White House officials do believe that the latest blows to bin Laden’s network have left the terrorists “paralyzed.”

In the past year and a half, the Americans have eliminated 20 of about 30 leaders loyal to Osama. Moreover, since the war in Afghanistan was launched to destroy al-Qaida sanctuaries, the president can finally announce the beginning of the end. His senior officials’ confidence was captured by The New York Times on exactly the same day when, from Kabul, Hamid Karzai revealed what an inquiry by the same newspaper had already anticipated at the end of May — namely, that U.S. officials have undertaken talks for months with supporters of Mullah Mohammad Omar, who has eluded capture for ten years and is increasingly at odds with al-Qaida. Barack Obama was right — increasing troops a year and a half ago and now announcing a plan for withdrawal starting in July. However, in all these months — though matters have improved slightly — the U.S. electorate’s distrust of the war has increased.

In Kandahar, Lieutenant Colonel Clay Padgett is facing a Vietnam ghost — that of the Tet, an offensive that, as one of the Vietcong said, did not aim to defeat the U.S. but to bend it psychologically. The new devastating attack yesterday — over 12 deaths at a police station — proved the danger. On the other hand, the Taliban is one matter and al-Qaida another. Then there is the fact that Americans perceive these moves as last-ditch efforts.

But how many troops will leave in late July? So far, Pentagon chief Robert Gates — installed by Bush and now outgoing — has braked, saying it is too hazardous to give up right now. Nevertheless, the confusion among Osama’s troops could have been certified by the same bin Laden. In papers that were confiscated in Abbottabad, the leader’s “frustration” is evident: I cannot launch further terrorist attacks if even my bosses fear for their lives.

In this context, Karzai is also playing his own card. He has accused NATO of being an occupying force. And in recent months, after denouncing raids that targeted civilians, he accused “foreign forces” of “damaging the environment” with the “smoke” from airplanes and “nuclear components” from weapons. Secretly, he is the first to negotiate with the Taliban, but only to ingratiate himself in case the Americans truly leave sooner.