U.S. Forces To Draw Down in Afghanistan

The United States is preparing to hand over military control in the dangerous southern region of Afghanistan to NATO.

This is part of a troop drawdown in the country which the U.S. invaded shortly after 9-11 in an attempt to destroy the Al Qaeda network.

The United States says that its shifting approach complements Afghanistan's evolution into a self-sustaining democracy and that Washington has no plans to pull out altogether.

"The Afghans have to have enough space to make their own decisions, even to stumble sometimes," said U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann. "But we shouldn't leave them without critical support before they're strong enough."

As the U.S. presence becomes less visible, however, Afghans are starting to question whether the U.S. support is sufficient. Some Afghan officials express concern that the Bush administration's priorities are simply shifting elsewhere and that the United States may abandon their country prematurely, much the way it did in the early 1990s following the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

NATO will not be searching for Al Qaeda operatives, they will have their hands full dealing with the warlords, poppy-harvesting season being the hassle that it is.

On one of the biggest threats facing the country, the illicit drug trade, the United States has largely ceded leadership to the British government and is pinning its hopes on Afghan provincial governors to eradicate poppy fields. Although U.S. officials have warned repeatedly about the need to curb the burgeoning opium business, they have so far spent only modest amounts to help and now say Kabul must take the initiative.

The United States has determined that Osama bin-Laden will not be returning to his former sanctuary.

Readers of this blog learned back in November of the secret negotiations being conducted between the U.S. and former leaders of the deposed Taliban regime. See U.S. Reportedly Seeking Negotiations With Taliban and Al Qaeda and One Of Secret Contacts Between U.S. and Taliban Missing.

The U.S. is still not acknowledging any negotiated exit or truce with the Taliban, this isn't the Paris Peace Talks after all.

What motivates the United States to draw down in Afghanistan can be debated without much satisfaction, since we are only talking about freeing up a few thousand troops at this point.

The spookiness never stops these days.