June 14, 2011 | View Online
Decision Time in Afghanistan
Obama Administration Needs to Put Details on Transition Plan
By Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman |
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U.S.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left, watches as Afghan President
Hamid Karzai speaks at a news conference at the Presidential Palace in
Kabul, Afghanistan.
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As the White House decides this month how many U.S. troops to withdraw as part of its handover to Afghan leadership, policymakers must explore broader questions on U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. The death of Osama bin Laden and the fact that he was found in Pakistan adds greater urgency to this debate.
We believe the United States, beginning this summer, must institute a significant drawdown in American troops this year of no fewer than 15,000 forces.
As the administration discusses the transition of U.S. forces, it must also provide a clearer plan for how it intends to transition responsibility to the Afghan government.
Misfiring at Al Qaeda in Yemen
By Ken GudeThe Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post report that the Obama administration has decided to move CIA drones into Yemen to step up the air campaign against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. The administration is right to be concerned that AQAP is taking advantage of Yemen’s political crisis. But relying on drones to roll back the terrorist group’s gains is the wrong prescription for that diagnosis. Read more here.
