Clinton Warns NATO Against ‘Hasty’ Afghan Withdrawal

Dismisses July Timetable, Insists NATO 'Not Leaving'

In discussions today in Berlin, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed the president once-promised July timetable for beginning the withdrawal from Afghanistan, insisting that it was vital for NATO to make clear that they are “not leaving.”

Clinton went on to warn member nations against leaving the war for “political expediency” and insisted that nations must not consider what she called a “hasty” withdrawal. She likewise insisted the war is going really well.

The warnings against a “hasty” withdrawal have been common among administration officials, and each time it is a wonder that anything done in a war that has already lasted nearly 10 years could be called “hasty.”

Clinton then went on to disavow the 2014 date touted by other nations as the end of the war, saying that the US “partnership” with the Karzai government in Afghanistan would last “well beyond 2014.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.