According to a report in tonight’s Christian Science Monitor, the July 2011 “drawdown” from Afghanistan, already disavowed and with many talking about removing a couple thousand troops just for appearance’s sake, may not even amount to that much.
Rather, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is taking the language of “transition” quite literally and suggests that instead of having any troops leave, he may just have them shuffle about the country, moving a few from one province to another, and call that good enough.
It is hardly surprising that it has come to this, really, as Gen. David Petraeus and other officials have been downplaying the idea of removing troops for months, and he is also said to be pushing for another escalation of at least 2,000 additional troops.
But the selling of the December escalation to the American public was largely conditioned on this illusory July 2011 drawdown. It seems the administration may have some questions to answer if all that happens is a shuffling of troops.
"It seems the administration may have some questions to answer if all that happens is a shuffling of troops."
HA who is gona ask him? the republicans, the media? the democrats. (the only one who had the ballz to pose such a question was already destroyed by the israel lobby, oh poor helen,it to bad you were from the land of the Muhammadans)
if anything the only questions he will get until he loses his reelection, is why doesn't he listen to generals on the ground and send even more troops, after all surges work and we don't cut and run
The "drawdown" is "condition-based" — an old Rumsfeld term that is still used.
SEC. GATES: Well, you know, as I mentioned last night, President Karzai has set the goal for the Afghan government of having the security responsibility for the entire country transferred to the Afghan government by 2014. I think that we will have some presence here for quite some period of time, but we will begin a very — we will begin drawing down in July. But as I said last night, that will be based on — the pace and the numbers that we draw down will depend on the conditions on the ground. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.asp…
Foggy Rasmussen plays a cute game of 'three-card Monte'. It isn't "draw down", it's to be "shuffle around."
An old saying goes, "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with bulls*@t." Even when the US/NATO saturates that bulls*@t in fresh blood. Military AND civilian.