Endgame

US President Barack Obama approved the beginning of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, starting with 10,000 by the end of 2011. Over the course of a decade, the US has “oscillated between building and destroying,” suggests Dexter Filkins in an opinion essay for the New Yorker. The essay lists Afghanistan’s challenges and reasons why a majority of Americans support ending US involvement in the war: levels of violence are high, insurgents are resilient, the Afghan government and the Afghan Army lack control over large parts of the country, and corruption is rampant. Obama insists that goals have been met, but Afghanistan is neither a stable nor an appreciative ally for the US. Complete drawdown will require years, Filkins notes, but “the moment of maximum American influence is passing without very much to show for it.” – YaleGlobal