In yesterday’s State of the Union address, President Obama laid out his vision for his final term in office.
Although the primary focus of the speech dealt with broader economic initiatives, including tax hikes and other spending changes, perhaps the most striking aspect concerned his plan to withdraw 34,000 troops from Afghanistan by this time next year. The Obama administration also plans to shift total responsibility to the Afghan security forces by the end of 2014.
Currently, about 66,000 soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan. Reducing the number of troops overseas is a bold step, but by no means does it live up to Obama’s ambitious 2008 and 2012 campaign platforms. Thus, it is not clear if the war will necessarily end by 2014, even if most of the military control will be transferred to the Afghan forces.
Other questions persist as well — Obama’s proposal lacked many specifics. For example, the number of soldiers who would remain after the security responsibility handoff remains uncertain, but we predict that the numbers will still be in the thousands. The timeline of troop withdrawal is also unclear, and the White House’s sole comment was that it would be “phased out.”
There has been some speculation that this plan was a result of a compromise between the president and various U.S. military leaders, some of whom fervently wanted to see increased military support in that region. It is not surprising to see Obama accommodating his opposition given the way he approached his first term. However, to those who wanted to see the president step up as a leader in his second term, this may come as a disappointment.
As an important side note, what was left out of Obama’s speech last night was something that the president has historically avoided discussing in public — drone warfare. Although the rhetoric of Obama’s speech suggests that war can be ended, drones are simply replacing humans on the battlefield, and war may actually become a perpetual threat.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Feb. 13 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].
