Obama Poised to Announce 2014 ‘Target’ for Afghan Transition

Officials Say President Will Vow 'Enduring Presence' Beyond Then

by Jason Ditz, November 16, 2010

Just days ahead of the Lisbon Summit, the Obama Administration is reporting that the president is going to make a public announcement of the US government’s official abandonment of the July 2011 date and the new 2014 “target” for the war effort’s transition to Afghan control.

Even this will come with enormous caveats, according to those familiar with the planned announcement. President Obama will be vowing an “enduring presence” in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 date.

NATO officials are said to be facing only a single option in their “debate” regarding Afghan policy, and that is to rubber stamp the continuation of the war in its current composition. The Obama Administration has also denied having anything resembling an “exit strategy” in place for the war, current in its 10th year.

President Obama announced his intentions to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011 during his December 2009 speech announcing his most recent escalation of the war. Though officials were disavowing this date within hours of the speech some officials continued to reference it through the summer, though it is now clear that the administration has no intention of ending the war.

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