Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has now indicated hopes, maybe even intentions, for ending the combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013 in advance of the complete troop withdrawal already announced for the end of 2014.
Thus the ending of the war in Afghanistan will, actually now has, become a matter for election year politics.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has criticized the announcement by Panetta. In his view, our end of combat should be a matter of conditions on the ground in Afghanistan, not politics. He also has indicated that such announcements so far in advance only provide incentive for the Taliban to simply wait a now shorter period of time before American military forces leave that country.
Ending a long and costly war should be a matter of very careful strategic calculations. What were our goals in 2001 when we initiated military actions in Afghanistan and have they been achieved is of course the first question. There will be strong political disagreement over such answers.
Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaida is seemingly a mere shell of its former threat to America. But will al-Qaida be able to renew its efforts in the coming years, particularly if Afghanistan returns to the brutal and radical rule of the Taliban? Again, there will be disagreement on that issue.
The key to our withdrawal, at least from a strategic perspective, is whether the Taliban will be able to quickly move to resume power as the government of Afghanistan. The answer to that question, again, should be a matter of strategic calculation, not presidential politics.
There is no doubt that most Americans are very tired of war, and decisions to accelerate the end of combat, quickly followed by complete withdrawal of American military power from that region, will be very popular.
But in the end the vital national interests of America should drive decisions to initiate military action and to end it as well. We hope that the men and women, in uniform and civilians as well, within our defense and foreign policy establishments will be free to express their views, strategically, and not be swayed by the politics of a major election in what they recommend, ultimately, to the president.
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