KABUL, Afghanistan -- Drawdown plans announced by the U.S. and more than a dozen other nations will shrink the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan by 40,000 troops at the close of next year, leaving Afghan forces increasingly on the frontlines of the decade-long war.
The United States is pulling out the most – 33,000 by the end of 2012. That's one-third of 101,000 American troops who were in Afghanistan in June, the peak of U.S. military presence in the war, according to figures provided by the Pentagon.
Others in the 49-nation coalition have announced withdrawal plans too, while insisting they are not rushing to leave. Many nations have vowed to keep troops in Afghanistan to continue training the Afghan police and army in the years to come. And many have pledged to keep sending aid to the impoverished country after the international combat mission ends in 2014.
Still, the exit is making Afghans nervous.
They fear their nation could plunge into civil war once the foreign forces go home. Their confidence in the Afghan security forces has risen, but they don't share the U.S.-led coalition's stated belief that the Afghan soldiers and police will be ready to secure the entire nation in three years. Others worry the Afghan economy will collapse if foreigners leave and donors get stingy with aid.
Foreign forces began leaving Afghanistan this year.
About 14,000 foreign troops will withdraw by the end of December, according to an Associated Press review of more than a dozen nations' drawdown plans. The United States is pulling out 10,000 service members this year; Canada withdrew 2,850 combat forces this summer; France and Britain will each send about 400 home; Poland is recalling 200; and Denmark and Slovenia are pulling out about 120 combined.
Troop cutbacks will be deeper next year, when an estimated 26,000 more will leave. That figure includes 23,000 Americans, 950 Germans, 600 more French, 500 additional Britons, 400 Poles, 290 Belgians, 156 Spaniards, 100 Swedes and 50 Finns.
Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, told the AP that the number of Marines in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan will drop "markedly" in 2012, and the role of those who stay will shift from countering the insurgency to training and advising Afghan security forces.
Amos declined to discuss the number of Marines expected to leave in 2012.
There are now about 19,400 Marines in Helmand, and that is scheduled to fall to about 18,500 by the end of this year.
"Am I OK with that? The answer is `yes,'" Amos said. "We can't stay in Afghanistan forever."
"Will it work? I don't know. But I know we'll do our part."
Additional troop cuts or accelerated withdrawals are possible.
Many other countries, including Hungary and Italy, are finalizing their withdrawal schedules. Presidential elections in Europe and the European debt crisis also could speed up the pullout. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said this week that Australia's training mission could be completed before the 2014 target date.
Back in June, then-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that when the Obama administration begins pulling troops from Afghanistan, the U.S. will resist a rush to the exists, "and we expect the same from our allies." Gates said it was critically important that a plan for winding down NATO's combat role by the end of 2014 did not squander gains made against the Taliban that were won at great cost in lives and money.
"The more U.S. forces draw down, the more it gives the green light for our international partners to also head for the exits," said Jeffrey Dressler, a senior research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. "There is a cyclical effect here that is hard to temper once it gets going."
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings Jr. said the cutbacks that have been announced will not affect the coalition's ability to fight the insurgency.
"We are getting more Afghans into the field and we are transferring more responsibility to them in many areas," Cummings said, adding that many leaders of the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Haqqani militant networks have been captured or killed.
Afghan security forces started taking the lead in seven areas in July. They soon will assume responsibility for many more regions as part of a gradual process that will put Afghans in charge of security across the nation by the end of 2014.
Some countries are lobbying to start transition as soon as possible in areas where they have their troops deployed – so they can go home, said a senior NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss transition. The official insisted that those desires were not driving decisions on where Afghan troops are taking the lead.
The official said that because they want to leave, a number of troop-contributing nations faced with declining public support at home have started working harder to get their areas ready to hand off to Afghan forces.
"The big question (after 2014) is if the Afghan security forces can take on an externally based insurgency with support from the Pakistani security establishment and all that entails," Dressler said. "I think they will have a real challenge on their hands if the U.S. and NATO countries do not address Pakistani sponsorship of these groups."
Some questions to consider:
1. Will this hurt or help the USA? How?
2. Will this hurt or help Afghanistan, or both?
3. What is the cost in lives, money for both countries either way?
4. Does this article seem biased?
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Lekic reported from Brussels. AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Helmand contributed to this report.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/withdrawal-from-afghanistan_n_1117972.html
By Withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it will hurt but will also help the United States. It will hurt the U.S. because their main goal of starting the war was to destroy Al-Qaeda because of the 9/11 attacks. Now by withdrawing the troops you leave the Al-Qaeda organization to do whatever it wants. One way of this helping the United States is that they will save a lot of money, effort, and time. A lot of the United States’ money goes to the war, and by withdrawing a lot of the troops it will save all that. Another thing is that there were 2,799 casualties in the Afghanistan War since it started in 2001. Also 14,969 people have been wounded. This death rate is still ridiculously high right now and that has to stop. On Afghanistan’s side, I know that they want to have the U.S. forces stay in Afghanistan because the officials wouldn’t be able to handle it if the U.S. did leave with that many troops. The Afghans might break out into a civil war, or their economy might plummet if the U.S. leaves. The Afghan Security officers have a high credence, but they would not be able to keep the Afghans “in place.” Pulling out U.S. troops from Afghanistan will help more than hurt the U.S. but will definitely hurt Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteThe pullout of troops and eventual Afghan control of the nation’s security will both help and hurt the country. This will help the nation because extremists groups could lessen their number of attacks because there is no foreign force in the nation. Many of the attacks have been aimed at the foreign countries because they were not wanted there. But there is a bad side to this. The terrorists groups could feel it is easier to do an attack because there is no foreign force watching to put them down. Also, the afghan troops would probably not be as well trained as the Americans, despite being trained for numerous years. It was also clearly stated in the article that the afghan citizens feel more comfortable being protected by the United States and other countries. Overall, the pullout of troops could benefit the nation or hurt it; it all depends on how the Afghan forces do and whether the terrorists groups will act or not.
ReplyDeleteWithdrawing troops will both positively and negatively affect the United States. One problem with withdrawing troops is Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. With no one watching, these groups could plot possible terrorist attacks on the United States and other countries. Also, these groups could possibly take over Afghanistan causing another possible war. I think many countries should keep some troops in Afghanistan so a new uprising can be prevented. The problem is, preventing this problem will cost lots of money and each country will need a constant supply of troops.
ReplyDeleteThis plan also has some positives. Removing troops could cause fewer deaths among soldiers and civilians. Also, the war in Afghanistan has cost trillions of dollars. Removing troops would allow the money spent to be drastically lowered. In my opinion, the war has been a tremendous waste of resources, lives, and money. The United States has been able to kill Osama bin Laden, but hasn’t accomplished much besides that. (He was killed in Pakistan). Removing troops would also lower the amount of resources used. Overall, the United States is in a tough position. I think the United States and other countries should remove some troops, but not all troops. This way, Afghanistan will stay under control and money spent will be lowered.
If US soldiers are taken out of Afghanistan then it will effect the people of Afghanistan in a negative way. There is a chance of civil war breaking out in the country if we leave. More of the innocent civilians will be killed for no reason at all. The US soldiers protect the regular population and themselves from terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. The article states that they are worried about whether or not "the Afghan soldiers and police will be ready to secure the entire nation in three years." The terrorist groups kidnap husbands and sometimes their sons and force them to work for them or else their lives and their families lives are at stake. The US soldiers disarm bombs on the streets of the country, thus saving the lives of many Afghan people. If soldiers are withdrawn from Afghanistan, then the innocent people of Afghanistan lives will be at stake.
ReplyDeleteThe troops should be sent home to the USA from Afghanistan. I know there could be consequences if there is no pressure on the terrorist, like more bombing or terrorist plots. This war is called the war on terror, but who are the terrorist. It might seem like the only terrorist are Al-Qaida, but what about the Taliban or the men who went into a summer camp and shot dozens of kids in the Netherlands. You can not stop terrorism, you can destroy a group, but there always another one that rises. It would be best to have the troops at home so if there was an attack from any terrorist group around the country the army would be right there to be called into action when needed. In Afghanistan the troops are not fighting head on with the terrorist most of the US soldiers are being killed by roadside bombs and the citizens of Afghanistan are damaged because of these outbursts with the terrorist against US soldiers. Finally think about the soldiers, I'm sure they would want to go home to their families instead of fighting a war that seems to be endless, that is just taking the lives of innocent soldiers and citizens.
ReplyDeleteRemoving the troops from Afghanistan will help the Afghans in some ways. It allows them to learn how to take care of their country by themselves. It gives the police force and other citizens the responsibility to care for other people and their country. It will give them an opportunity to rebuild their country without outsiders. Although it will help Afghanistan in many ways, it could lead to some problems. As the article states, it could lead to a civil war or economic collapse. It could allow the Taliban to take over again and violence to erupt. If the troops are pulled out, countries including America should continue to donate aid to this country. We should give support to help gain peace. Pulling the troops out would save many American’s lives and money. Having troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2001, has cost the U.S.A about 481 billion dollars and 1,140 American troops have been killed. Since 2001, 20,000 total people have been killed. Pulling out the troops will help America, but overall will not be good for Afghanistan. Americans could be hurt if the Taliban regains power. There could be another attack similar to 9/11. This makes this a controversial and complicated decision.
ReplyDeleteSending home the troops in Afghanistan will benefit both Afghanistan and the US. The US has tried to get Afghanistan back on its feet at the cost of many lives and a lot of money. If the US, and other countries that have troops in Afghanistan, follow through with the plan of training Afghani policemen to be able to do their job effectively, the country should be fine without outside help. US troops have been occupying Afghanistan for ten years, and they need to give the country a chance to grow on their own. As for terror attacks, I think that the terrorists have seen the power of the US and won't attack again for a while. Also, one of the main reasons that the terrorists started attacking was because of US influence in their country. However, it's important for the US to send its troops home a few at a time, so if they see anything about to happen, they can still take action.
ReplyDeleteThis article is slightly biased because it's from the point of view of someone who wants the troops to come home – so are all of the people the author quotes. The author also emphasizes the fact that other countries are sending taking out their troops, as if justifying that the US should follow suit. Overall, the effect of pulling troops out of Afghanistan depends heavily on the reaction of Afghanistan as a whole – the police officers, the government, the terrorists, and the citizens.
The American troops in Afghanistan really need to get home to their families. Our soldiers are fighting everyday for something that they have already basically accomplished. We went to Afghanistan because of America’s basic fear of 9/11, and to try to stop it from happening again. The initial impulse to attack a foreign country because of their original attack killing thousands of your people is a correct action to take. 9/11 caused nearly three thousand American civilian deaths. By fighting in Afghanistan, nearly nine thousand Afghani civilians died. America entered Afghanistan to stop groups like Al-Qaida, or the Taliban, not to kill civilians. And we have been successful in stopping those terrorist organizations. America has severely decreased the numbers of Terrorists in Afghanistan, leading the American troops to be somewhat wasted, while posted in Afghanistan. This leads to the question of why are we still in Afghanistan, and that I have no idea why.
ReplyDeleteGetting these troops out of Afghanistan will help the US. We have been in this war to long and have spent lots and lots of money on it. Our economy is doing badly right now and spending our money on our large military does not help. If we used our taxes on social services like medicade and medicare instead of this war we would not have to cut them. We don’t have enough money to stay in any longer. Also their government is very corrupt and not many people like it so when we try to put them in charge it is like a losing situation. We also have not gotten very far in the past ten years. And I don’t think we will get any farther.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many problems with this situation. That’s what happens when countries decide to invade another country. There never is going to be “the right time,” to leave, because we can only impact a whole country so much. The longer we stay, the worst it gets for US and the other helping countries, by the debt, separating families and ending lives. However the longer we stay in Afghanistan, will hopefully create better lives for the Afghans. If we leave right now there is a huge possibility that the whole country could break out into a civil war! Then there is also the other reason that we are in Afghanistan; terrorists. Once we leave who knows what will happen, we are protecting our country as well as Afghanistan. For these reasons I think that we should very slowly, even slower than they are doing now, start retreating from Afghanistan. Yes it brings tears to my eyes every time I see a soldier at the airport reunited his or her kids, but they signed up for this war, those kids in Afghanistan did not. Thank you soldiers for being so brave and putting our country, and even other countries, before yourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis article has a lot of interesting facts, but what is happening in Afghan does indirectly affect most of the US. There are about 307,000,000 people in the US, of those 101,000 are soldiers. Only three percent of the population is actually part of the military. Those three percent of people will probably lead another 5 percent into debt to support them. This leaves like 92 percent of the population being unharmed. But, once the soldiers come back, another 2 percent of people will lose their jobs because the need of jobs for that three percent of people. This leaves 90 percent of the population unharmed, until the one percent of soldiers have to go to the government for financial help. This causes the rich people to cut back, and taxes rising, which will harm around 89 percent of people leaving around 1 percent untouched. This will lead our country into another recession which will take years to get out of. I love how the military protects the civilians, and the recession should definitely be something we take with pride, but the thing is that we won’t. We will start complaining and get into a political mess, there will be protests and there will be a lot of police around, but it all started with the military. I mean, I guess the military is a great thing, but we already pay enough for a military and once the soldiers come back, another war will most likely start and all of the soldiers will leave again causing a never ending circle of recession. And I guess the terrorists attacks will never end, the hatred for the US will always exist and we really can’t do anything about it except for trying to prevent them. I know I sound extremely biased, but to an extent so is this article, he stands on his own viewpoint but doesn’t quite let you know, but you can feel it. To sum it up, I don't even know why we are still in war with anyone, when there are simpler ways to solve problems, and I don't understand how we could want to suffer for three percent of the population if they will just leave the next time there is a war.
ReplyDeleteThe troop withdrawals in Afghanistan could have both positive and negative outcomes. When the US troops are pulled out of Afghanistan they will lose a third of there military presence in the country. This sudden drop in military could destabilize the fragile government there. This could in turn lead to a civil war similar to the ones that happened all of the Middle East earlier this year. Pulling out of Afghanistan could have some advantages. The one big advantage would be the money gained. In 2004 spent 782 billion dollars. 399 billion of that went to the military. With the troop withdrawals some of the spending could be stopped to help pay off our debt.
ReplyDeleteThe United States cannot stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, yet leaving too quickly risks destabilizing the country again, and making a bad situation worse. Originally, the US entered Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban government and Al-Qaeda. This has proved to be an almost impossible task, and it has resulted in Afghanistan lacking a stable government. The US remaining in Afghanistan has created tension within the factions of the country, making for a difficult time to start taking out troops as rapidly as we are now. Our original goal going into Afghanistan was to return it to a point of stability, getting rid of the Taliban and making a more stable government. The country is not at this point yet, and so it makes it risky to withdraw troops as swiftly as President Obama has proposed, as it could result in a large civil war returning a group like the Taliban to power. If the United States wants to leave Afghanistan with both countries having benefited from it, this is not the time. In order to make the mission in Afghanistan successful for both sides, the only solution for the US is to ease the troops out of Afghanistan over time, and only fully withdrawing the soldiers when they are confident in the stability of the country.
ReplyDeleteTaking the troops out of Afghanistan could be good or bad for the U.S. The U.S. has had troops in Afghanistan for over ten years, and around 1,761 troops have died. The U.S. public is tired of losing troops for another country that can’t help itself. From that point of view taking the troops out of Afghanistan would be good. On the other hand if we just leave, the troops will have given their lives for nothing, and going there in the fist place would have been a waste of time and money. The choice of whether to take the troops out of Afghanistan or not, will not only effect the U.S., but Afghanistan too. Taking the troops out of Afghanistan will most likely cause another civil war there. Afghanistan’s government and economy are unstable, because the regional leaders are more powerful than the central government. If we leave the regions will go back to ruling themselves, and possibly some will break off from the country. The best solution for this problem is to take the troops out slowly, and slowly lessen the amount we control Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteThe United States has fought a long, bitter guerrilla war in Afghanistan, a type off war we do not have a good history with. Vietnam was the first time we fought an enemy who was predominately insurgents rather than soldiers, and it was a disaster. But, Afghanistan is not Vietnam. The U.S. has made huge progress there, in expelling the Taliban and stabilizing the region. The Unites States should, however, begin the pullout now for a variety of reasons. Firstly, It has been shown that earlier in the war our method of few troops there as a police action rather than troop saturation worked better, with lower casualty rates. Second, America cannot stay in Afghanistan forever, it is simply to costly in lives and money, which we now have dangerously low amounts of. America will benefit from a pullout, but must do it carefully. We should continue to train the ANA and push tougher sanctions on Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop funding these groups, because if we stop the flow of supplies and aid the Afghan army with supplies and training, the Taliban and like groups will be demoralized and will soon give in. The cost in lives has been heavy, with thousands of U.S. troops killed or injured, and it needs to end soon. the war threatens to cripple our economy further and more Afghans die each day.
ReplyDeletePulling troops out of Afghanistan benefits the whole world. The USA will spend less money, make some amount of progress into getting out of our national debt, or pay for greater necessities; such as education or healthcare. Less Americans will die, because less people will be fighting. Afghanistan will be able to win the war more independently, creating a more stable government, not one imposed by America. Our government may still worry that the Afghanistan army will not win. If they come close to failing, we can always bring troops in again, fighting along side them. Taking troops out of Afghanistan will not only save lives and money, but will give Afghanistan some independence that will stabilize their government.
ReplyDeleteWithdrawing the troops from Afghanistan will be beneficial to the United States. It is time to bring our soldiers home, because the longer we continue to stay there the worse it is going to get. Our economy is in a slump right now and spending large quantities of money to keep our troops in Afghanistan is not beneficial. The United States currently spend $10 billion a month in Afghanistan, which is what it costs to build a school or community college. With the U.S. unemployment rate running over 16% the money should be spent on finding ways to retrain and find new jobs for the unemployed as apposed to spending it on guns, bullets, and bombs. Without sounding selfish, the U.S needs to take care of itself and fix its own problems before taking care of others.
ReplyDeleteWithdrawing our troops from Afghanistan will certainly help the US. The US has already invested about five hundred billion dollars in this war. Bringing our troops home would not only save money, but also the lives of soldiers and innocent people. After many years of training, the Afghan security forces need to start taking the lead and not rely on the US to protect the country. The US should send home about half of its troops because we do not know how effective the security training was. If the Taliban takes over again, the troops that are left can step in and help. Whether or not the war was worth fighting depends on how Afghanistan grows and behaves without the help of foreign troops.
ReplyDeleteThis article is biased because it only states the progress that has been made since the war started such as “Afghan security forces started taking the lead in seven areas in July.” It also frequently mentions how other countries are pulling their troops out and the US should do the same. This article does not explain what negative effects there could be on Afghanistan without the US support.
If the troops in Afghanistan are withdrawn, it will help the Unites States. By withdrawing them, we can stop worrying about the war. It will give us an opportunity to focus on the current job situation. As Amos said, “Am I OK with that? The answer is yes. We can’t stay in Afghanistan forever.” We need to stop worrying about other countries and start worrying about America’s problems at home. Many of the soldiers have been injured or killed during the war. Pulling the troops will reduce these casualties. Also, it will cut defense spending greatly, and allow America to spend money domestically. However, it will cost a significant amount of money to bring the troops home. In addition, we cannot pull them out too soon. Afghanistan may not be able to control their government, and could break out into a civil war. I think pulling the troops from Afghanistan is a good idea, but must be taken with care.
ReplyDeleteThere are more benefits than disadvantages to withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan. The tremendous amount of money the United States spends every day to keep troops in Afghanistan could be spent domestically to patch up problems such as the recession. There would be fewer civilian casualties, as well as deaths among our own soldiers. Disadvantages are that Afghanistan could plummet into a civil war and national security could be sacrificed. The U.S. should help Afghanistan build up their own security forces so they can protect their own country, while slowly pulling out our troops. Some forces should remain to keep an eye on the situation, but a full-scale military presence in Afghanistan isn’t necessary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most people above that by pulling out troops from Afghanistan, the United States creates the possibility to have many positive and negative outcomes. The United States will certainly benefit by sending home troops, because it will be able to not only begin to secure a more desirable economic situation, but also decrease the number of American deaths. However, Afghanistan has reasons to worry about the withdrawal of American troops, as “they fear their nation could plunge into civil war once the foreign forces go home.” I think that because of this possibility it is good that the United States will pull out their troops slowly to help ensure that no major problems arise. Troops eventually will have to be taken out of Afghanistan, and it is better to do sooner than later.
ReplyDelete4. Does this article seem biased?
ReplyDeleteThe article does not seem biased because it simply states the facts and possible effects of the withdrawals. There isn’t any opinion involved, which is what defines bias. The author says what the opinions of different people mentioned in the article, but the author’s personal opinion is not clearly brought up. This article leaves the reader to make their own decisions on how they feel about these military choices.
This will both hurt and help the USA. It will help the US because we will not be at war. We have been at war with Afghanistan for many years. It would be great if we had the pleasure of not being in a war for a chance. We will feel very relieved if we aren't hurting someone constantly. This will also hurt us too. If we leave Afghanistan, we are leaving them to survive on their own, which may not be a very good idea. They may not be able to survive as a country, and then eventually fall. If they did survive on their own, they would be happy that they don't need to depend on an other country to live.
ReplyDeletePulling out the troops in Afghanistan would benefit the United States. But it would not benefit Afghanistan. Because of these wars, there is a lot of hatred between these countries. If the troops were to be pulled out, there would not be so much conflict and war. There would be more world peace (which is what most people want), and people wouldn't have to risk their lives just to save our country. Afghanistan wouldn't stand a chance against the U.S Army, so the wars would just result with several dead Afghan people (which is unnecessary). If Afghanistan troops were pulled out, it would mostly result in more world peace for the United States of America.
ReplyDeleteWithdrawing from the war will only help the USA. We have spent too much time and money on the war already. People die by the thousands every day, mostly because of us. If we sent all of our troops home, the USA wouldn't be in a state of constant fighting, killing thousands of civilians and US soldiers. We would be far less in debt, as we would stop spending so much on trying to fight Afghanistan. Also, as in Vietnam, the civil war will probably settle itself if we JUST BACK OUT! I believe that we should get our troops out of Afghanistan right away.
ReplyDelete